ALARM is being raised over increased diabetes cases among children, with experts pointing at low public awareness of its early symptoms.

Dr Edna Majaliwa, a paediatric specialist with the Muhimbili National Hospital, said at an international diabetes stakeholders’ conference here yesterday that the lack of awareness leaves many young patients vulnerable to life-threatening complications and preventable deaths.

Even with improved awareness and increased hospital attendance have led to more diagnoses, delayed recognition of symptoms at community level remains a major challenge, she said at the forum bringing together health experts from 20 countries to discuss early diagnosis, access to essential medicines and long-term care for people living with diabetes.

Current data show that two out of every 100,000 children are diagnosed with diabetes, with many arriving at health facilities when the disease has already progressed to a worrying stage, where children are still being brought to hospital too late because families do not recognise the early warning signs, she said. 

“This delay significantly increases the risk of complications and avoidable deaths,” the specialist noted, explaining that the vast majority of diabetes cases affecting children are Type 1 diabetes, a lifelong condition caused by damage to the pancreas.

This prevents the body from producing insulin, where the exact cause of this affliction is still unclear, but several factors are suspected to increase risk, including failure to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of life and exposure to certain viral infections, the medic affirmed.

When a child develops Type 1 diabetes it becomes a lifelong condition because the pancreas is damaged, so the child must depend on medication to control blood sugar levels in order to survive.”

While a healthy lifestyle can help reduce complications, it does not prevent Type 1 diabetes as the disease is not linked to obesity or poor lifestyle choices, so it can affect children as young as six months, making infants one of the most vulnerable groups, she stated.

Prof Kaushik Romaiya, secretary of the Tanzania Diabetes Association, said Zanzibar had recorded high prevalence of diabetes compared to the Mainland largely due to lifestyle changes, physical inactivity, increasing obesity and unhealthy dietary habits.

Many patients seek medical care only after suffering serious complications, including kidney failure, heart disease, vision loss and chronic wounds as there is still limited public understanding of diabetes, and some patients do not adhere to their treatment plans, he said.

Routine health screening and stronger community education programmes are needed to stem the spread of the disease, he urged, while Dr. Omary Ubuguyu, an assistant director for non-communicable diseases in the Ministry of Health, said diabetes is emerging as a major public health concern across the country.

A survey conducted in 2011 showed that diabetes prevalence in Zanzibar stood at 2.7 percent but has since risen sharply to 7.4 percent, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated strategies to prevent escalation and manage the disease.

Diabetes is costly to diagnose and treat over the long term, prompting governments to strengthen services at primary healthcare level, including the provision of free insulin to children and young people up to the age of 25, he said.

Currently, about 6,000 people are receiving free treatment through the non-communicable diseases programme, with heavy investments being pursued in strengthening health services, he added.