Diabetes is a worldwide and ever-growing problem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. This number is likely to more than double by 2030 and diabetes deaths will increase by more than 50 % in the next 10 years without urgent actions.
Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation. In 2015, an estimated 1.6 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes. Another 2.2 million deaths were attributable to high blood glucose in 2012.