On 26 March, IDF-IAPB will host an online event to mark the launch of their joint policy brief, “Diabetic retinopathy: a call for global action”. A panel of experts, institutional representatives, diabetes advocates and healthcare professionals will detail the economic, social and psychological impact diabetic retinopathy (DR) has on people with diabetes. Using lived experience, they will highlight the benefits a multisectoral approach brings to the effective prevention and treatment of DR.
The need for urgency in diagnosis and treatment
The severity of diabetes-related complications can be life-threatening, while others are sufficiently debilitating to curtail daily activities and quality of life. The most common diabetes-related eye complication is diabetic retinopathy, the fifth leading cause of moderate to severe vision loss and blindness globally.
On a global scale, approximately 1 in 5 people with diabetes will show some degree of DR, with 1 in 10 experiencing a severe form of the condition. In 2020, an estimated 103 million adults had DR, and over 47 million had vision-threatening retinopathy requiring prompt treatment to preserve vision.
