Country Stories

Collective action is needed to beat diabetes: an endocrinologist’s story

Ukraine

World Health Organization | 01 Feb 2023

Diabetes affects 463 million people worldwide. The number of cases and prevalence of diabetes have been steadily rising over the past few decades, and it has been agreed around the globe that the rise of diabetes and obesity has to be brought to a halt by 2025. According to the results of the STEPS survey on the prevalence of noncommunicable disease risk factors in Ukraine, 7.1% of Ukrainian adults (18–69 years old) have diabetes, but nearly half of these are unaware of their condition.

Dr Philip Prudyus, Director of the Endocrinological Centre in Vinnytsia, has been working as an endocrinologist for nearly 40 years. However, it was only after the collapse of the Soviet Union that he gained access to wider knowledge – and understood the key to fighting diabetes.

“When I finally got access to the international guidelines and books, I realized that successful treatment requires a multidisciplinary team of endocrinologists, dieticians, psychologists and other specialists,” says Dr Prudyus.

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