Understanding
diabetes
Diabetes is a condition in the body where blood sugar levels are higher than normal. This can happen when the body either doesn’t make any insulin (type 1 diabetes), or the insulin that the body makes doesn’t work well (type 2 diabetes).
Type 1
Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes occurs when a person’s body either makes too little or doesn’t make any insulin. When insulin is not available in the body, glucose cannot enter the body’s cells to give the body energy.
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Type 1 diabetes can develop in childhood or adulthood. The condition can be triggered by environmental factors, a virus, or another unknown trigger.
Type 2
Diabetes
With type 2 diabetes, the pancreas can still make some insulin, but either it doesn’t make enough, or the body’s cells don’t respond to it as effectively as they used to. When the cells don’t respond as effectively, this is called “insulin resistance.” This means glucose is not getting into the cells where it’s needed to function properly.
MORE ABOUT DIABETES
463 million
people globally
have diabetes.
By 2045 this will rise
to 700 million.
±19 million
people in Africa have diabetes.
By 2045 it will be
±47 million.
South Africa has the highest
proportion of adult diabetes on
the continent.
Diabetes is the 2nd deadliest
disease in South Africa after
tuberculosis.
±2 million
South Africans are unaware
they have diabetes.
​
±5 million
South Africans have prediabetes.
39 806 445
is the total size of South
Africa’s adult population.
Prevalence of diabetes in
adults is 12.8%.
TOTAL DIABETES CASES
IN ADULTS IS
5 095 224
IN 2019, 12.7% OF ADULTS IN SOUTH AFRICA HAD DIABETES - A 137% INCREASE ON THE 2017 FIGURE OF 5.4%
