The University of Pretoria (UP, also called Tuks) will play host to the first South Africa Diabetes Summit next week on 10th November which will proceed World Diabetes Day on 14 November.
The event is a joint operation between the University of Pretoria Diabetes Research Centre (UP DRC) and the Diabetes Alliance.
“Diabetes is the number one cause of death among women in South Africa, and the second leading cause of death in men, according to Statistics South Africa. One in two people with diabetes are undiagnosed, says the International Diabetes Federation, and two out of three people in South Africa are at risk of prediabetes, according to the South African Demographic and Health Survey,” reads an announcement from Tuks.
“In the immediate wake of COVID-19, it is time to take stock. As one of the top co-morbidities for severe COVID-19 infection and poor outcomes, diabetes has been brought into the spotlight,” reads the details page for the event.
While COVID-19 may be a pandemic diabetes is referred to by Tuks as an epidemic that the summit hopes to tackle with the introduction of a Diabetes Charter.
This charter will be aligned with the WHO Global Diabetes Compact and will have five themes: awareness and prevention, innovation and research, management and access to care, education and surveillance.
Several professors and doctors from the UP DRC and Diabetes Alliance will be presenting during the event and hosting panel discussions, along with other experts and those living with diabetes.
While intended to be a meeting point for academics in the field as well as healthcare professionals, the South Africa Diabetes Summit is open to everyone and completely free to attend.
The summarised details of the event can be found below together with a registration page which is open to the public.
- Date: Wednesday, 10th November 2021
- Time: 09:00 – 13:00
- Location: Online through Livestorm
- Registration: Available here
[Image – CC Mohamed Hassan on Pixabay]
