CONCEPT NOTE
Across the world, about 537 million people have diabetes, with the majority of this living in low and middle-income countries. This corresponds to about 6.28% of the world's population. Both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past few decades. 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year making it the ninth leading cause of mortality. In Nigeria, approximately 5.8% (about 11 million) of adult Nigerians are living with diabetes mellitus.
This figure has been likened to a tip of an iceberg as it is estimated that two-thirds of diabetes cases in Nigeria are yet undiagnosed. Diabetes is one of the Non communicable diseases of global attention and is a major feature in the transition in disease burden from