WHO: Diabetes Linked to 18% of COVID-19 Deaths in Africa

The WHO bases its analysis on a study conducted in 14 African countries. It has been shown that people suffering from diabetes develop the severe form of coronavirus, especially if they are over sixty years old. The number of people with diabetes has increased sharply over the past thirty years, especially type 2 diabetes. From 4 million cases in 1980, they have increased to 25 million in 2014, the WHO points out, stressing that 60% of people living with undiagnosed diabetes are in Africa.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) published on Saturday, November 14, some figures on Covid-19 infection, recovery and death cases in Africa. The number of infected people is currently 1,948,833. The center indicates that the death toll from the pandemic stood at 46,836. As for the number of recoveries, it is 1,646,823.

The African countries with the highest number of positive cases and deaths are South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Ethiopia, according to the figures from the Africa CDC, the same source said.