Diabetes Epidemic: 800 Million Affected - What UN Says PNG & Developed Countries Must Do.

The United Nations has issued a serious warning. Diabetes now affects more than 800 million adults worldwide - and the number has quadrupled since 1990. According to the UN News report titled *"Global diabetes epidemic reaches critical levels with 800 million cases" (14 November 2024), the World Health Organization says this is an emergency, especially for low and middle-income countries like Papua New Guinea where 90% of untreated cases are located. “We have seen an alarming rise in diabetes over the past three decades, which reflects the increase in obesity, compounded by the impacts of the marketing of unhealthy food, a lack of physical activity and economic hardship,” warned WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1156711 What is Diabetes? UN Official Definition The United Nations official page for World Diabetes Day explains: "Diabetes is a chronic disease, which occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. This leads to an increased concentration of glucose in the blood." Source: https://www.un.org/en/observances/diabetes-day Diabetes Now Affects 1 in 6 Pregnancies In its latest report, the UN said for World Diabetes Day 2024, the theme is "Diabetes across life stages". The UN reported: "Diabetes now affects 1 in 6 pregnancies" and launched its first-ever global guidelines for managing diabetes before, during and after pregnancy. "It is a major cause of heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputations. Its impact is rising fastest in low and middle-income countries, where access to care and essential medicines is often limited." Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166662 How to Stop It? UN Tells Us to "Make Healthy Choices" In another UN News article "'Make healthy choices' urges UN agency, to prevent and manage chronic diabetes", WHO says: “The percentage of deaths attributable to high blood glucose or diabetes that occurs prior to age 70 is higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries,” cited WHO in its Global Report on Diabetes. And the solution from WHO: "Healthy diet, physical activity and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay its onset. Additionally, medication, regular screening and treatment for complications are also available." Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/11/1024991 What PNG and Developed Countries Can Learn From Each Other For PNG: We must return to kaukau, kumu, fish, and daily gardening/walking. Stop too much Coke, white rice, lamb flaps. For Developed Countries: Stop fast food, processed food, sitting 8 hours in office. Same prevention. WHO's 5 targets for 2030 are clear: - 80% of people with diabetes are diagnosed - 80% have good control of blood sugar - 100% of people with type 1 diabetes have access to insulin 83d6 Source: https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/diabetes-across-life-stages-growing-global-challenge Bottom line: Diabetes is preventable. Whether you live in Mount Hagen or Melbourne, the UN says the power is in your hands. Check your blood sugar this week. Walk 30 minutes daily. Choose local fresh food. Stop Diabetes - Starts With You! --- ABOUT AUTHOR: Healthy Living PNG - Providing health education for Papua New Guinea and global community based on WHO and UN guidelines. REFERENCES (UN Websites): 1. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1156711 2. https://www.un.org/en/observances/diabetes-day 3. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166662 4. https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/11/1024991 5. https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/diabetes-across-life-stages-growing-global-challenge 6. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes ---

Diabetes: The Silent Lifestyle Disease Killing PNG and Developed Countries - What UN Says We Must Do

Diabetes is no longer a disease for rich countries only. It is now one of the biggest killers in Papua New Guinea and around the world. According to the United Nations, the number of adults living with diabetes has nearly quadrupled since 1980 to over 422 million adults worldwide. In 2022, this number grew even higher to *830 million people living with diabetes. 8fa993d1 The sad part? Most of this rise is happening in low and middle-income countries like PNG. 8fa9 What is Diabetes? (UN Definition) The World Health Organization (WHO), the health agency of the UN, says: "Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces, which leads to an increased concentration of glucose in the blood." Why Should Both PNG and Developed Countries Worry? The UN warns that diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and lower limb amputation. In fact, the WHO said in 2012 alone, diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths, and 43% died before age 70. By 2021, that number rose to over 2 million deaths from diabetes and kidney disease. Whether you are in Mount Hagen, Port Moresby, Sydney, London or New York - the risk is the same if we live an unhealthy lifestyle. What Causes Type 2 Diabetes? UN Explains WHO Spokesperson said the rise is largely due to changes in lifestyle: "We are eating more heavy foods, full of fat and sugar; we are less physically active; and we have a more sedentary way of living." For PNG: Too much white rice, sugary drinks (Coke), lamb flaps, and less gardening/walking. For Developed Countries: Fast food, processed food, office jobs with no exercise, and sugary snacks. Same root cause. How to Prevent Diabetes - UN Recommendations The good news from WHO: Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed. The UN's Global Report on Diabetes calls for 4 simple actions: 1. Eat Healthily - PNG: More kaukau, kumu, fresh fish, less oil - Developed: More whole foods, less processed food 2. Be Physically Active - 30 minutes walk every day. Gardening, walking to market counts! 3. Avoid Excessive Weight Gain - WHO says more than 1 in 3 adults are now overweight e5de 4. Avoid Tobacco Use - Healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent diabetes 93d1 My Advice for PNG Families Don't wait until you are blind or need amputation. Every 30 seconds, a lower limb is lost to diabetes somewhere in the world. Go to your health centre, check your blood sugar. It is a simple, inexpensive test. If you have Type 2, it can be managed with diet, exercise, and generic medicines. --- REFERENCES 1. United Nations News - ‘Make healthy choices’ urges UN agency, to prevent and manage chronic diabetes (14 Nov 2018). https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/11/1024991 2. World Health Organization - Diabetes Fact Sheet . https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes. 3. WHO Global Report on Diabetes 2016 - https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565257. 4. WHO - World Diabetes Day 2025: Diabetes across life stages - https://www.who.int/news.

PNG Independence Reflection: The Lifestyle Disease That Connects Us All - From Port Moresby to New York

Today Papua New Guinea celebrates 51 years of Independence - 16th September 2026. 51 years ago, our biggest health challenges were malaria and infections. Today, we share the same challenge as Australia, USA, and Europe - Lifestyle Diseases. Whether you live in Lae or London, Goroka or Griffith, the story is the same: We are eating more processed food, moving less, stressing more, and sleeping less. The result is the same everywhere: _ Diabetes _ High blood pressure _ Heart disease _ Obesity _ Stroke In PNG, we call it "sugar sickness." In Australia, they call it "chronic disease." But it's the same disease, with the same 4 causes: 1. What we eat 2. How we move 3. What we drink/smoke 4. How we manage stress. The truth is: Independence gave us freedom to choose. But are our choices making us free from sickness? Developed or developing, rich or poor, our bodies work the same way. Our body still wants what our ancestors ate - real food, daily movement, clean water, and community connection. This Independence, our message for the whole world is simple: "True independence is not just freedom from colonisation. It's freedom from preventable sickness." 5 Freedom Choices for the Next 51 Years (PNG or Anywhere): 1.Eat Real Food: More garden food / local market food, less packet, tinned, and fast food. 2.Move Daily: Walk 30 minutes. Garden, swim, play. Your body was made to move. 3.Drink Water: Water is life. Reduce soft drinks, energy drinks, and too much alcohol. 4. Rest Your Mind:Sleep 7 hours. Talk to someone. Reduce phone time. 5.Know Your Numbers: Check your blood pressure, sugar, and weight. Early check saves life. PNG is 51. We are young as a nation, but our people must live long and strong for the next 51 years. Whether you read this in Mount Hagen or Melbourne, this is for you. Happy 51st Independence PNG! Let's choose health - the one freedom that matters most. This article is part of Healthy Living PNG - promoting health from PNG to the world.

When Self-Stigma Makes Us Run From The Bells That Are Ringing.

The bells are ringing. Can you hear them? The bell at the clinic saying "Free HIV test today". The bell in your head saying "You should know your status". The bell from your friend saying "Bro, let’s go check". The bell from your body saying "Something is not right". But you keep walking away. Why? Because of self-stigma. What is self-stigma? Self-stigma is when we judge ourselves first, before anyone else judges us. It’s when we say: "I did risky things. This is my fault." "If I have HIV, I deserve it." "I am dirty. I am bad. I am finished." And because we believe those lies about ourselves, we run. We run from the bells that are ringing constantly to save us. The truth is: HIV does not care about your past. Risky life happens. Mistakes happen. One night happens. That does not make you worthless. That does not mean you should hide. But self-stigma tells you to hide. It pushes you away from testing, away from treatment, away from life. Here’s what happens when we listen to self-stigma: 1. We ignore the bells. We see the clinic and cross the road. 2. We lie to ourselves. "I’m fine. I feel okay. Maybe it’s nothing." 3. We wait until it’s too late. Until the sickness grows legs and wings, and our life is crippled to dust. 4. We hurt the people we love. Because we didn’t test early, we couldn’t protect them too. HIV is not pregnancy that you can abort. Once you're into it, you're into it. Nothing on this earth will erase that mark. But medicine can control it. Medicine can let you live long and healthy. The only thing that can truly destroy you is hiding. So how do we stop running? We forgive ourselves first. You are not your mistake. You are not your risky night. You are a human being who deserves health, love, and a future. Testing is not punishment. Testing is love. Love for yourself. Love for your family. Love for your children who need you around. Be a real man. Be a real woman. Face the bell. Walk into the clinic. When you do that, something changes. The shame gets smaller. The fear gets smaller. And you become the strongest person you’ve ever been. Because the strongest people are not those who never made mistakes. The strongest people are those who faced the truth and chose life anyway. To you reading this: I know the bells are loud right now. I know your heart is beating fast. But please don’t run anymore. Go test. Know your status. If negative — good, stay safe and keep testing. If positive — good, start treatment today and live. *Stop punishing yourself for the past.* *Start fighting for your future.* The bells are ringing because someone loves you. Answer them.

Fear Is Hiding Papua New Guineans From HIV Testing

Fear is killing us in PNG. Not just the sickness. But the fear. Fear of what people will say. Fear of the test result. Fear of "nem nogut" and losing respect in the community. Because of this fear, so many Papua New Guineans are hiding. Hiding from clinics. Hiding from testing. Hiding from the truth. And hiding is costing lives. Let’s talk straight, no sugar-coating: HIV is not like pregnancy that you can abort. Once you're into it, you're indeed into it. Nothing else on this earth will erase the HIV mark on you. Some people think "if I don’t test, then I don’t have it." But that is a lie we tell ourselves. It will not forever hide you. Certainly, it will grow its legs. It will grow its wings to fly. It will stay quiet for months, for years. And then that moment will come, when your body gets weak, when sickness comes again and again. And that moment, your life will be crippled to dust. Why? Because you did not build a solid foundation to build your life. You did not know early. You did not start treatment early. You waited too long because of fear. Hiding will kill you very fast. And it’s not you alone. It’s your wife, your husband, your children, your family who will also suffer. Everyone living with HIV is affected when we choose silence over truth. I know it’s hard. I know the clinic can feel scary. I know you’re thinking "what if my wantok sees me?" I know you’re thinking "what will my boss say?" I know you’re thinking "what if I’m positive?" But think about this too: What if you are negative and you’ve been worrying for nothing? *What if you are positive but you start treatment today and live 30 more healthy years?* Testing for HIV means you love life. You love your family enough to be there for them. You love your friends enough to be honest. You love the world around you enough to stop the spread. Testing is not shame. Testing is strength. Testing is saying "I value my life and my future." Be a real man. Be a real woman. Face the test. Walk into that clinic with your head high. The nurses have seen everything. They are there to help, not to judge. The test takes 10 minutes. The results can give you peace, or give you a plan. And if the result is positive? You are not alone. Medicine today is strong. People with HIV are working, raising families, living full lives. But only if they know early. Only if they stop hiding. To my people of PNG: Stop letting fear write your story. Break the silence. Break the stigma. Talk to a counselor. Go with a friend. Because the moment you face the test, you become the strongest person ever lived. You take back control. You choose life. Don’t wait until your legs can’t walk you to the clinic. Go today. While you are still strong.