Health agencies and diabetes charities warned on Friday that most of the world's estimated 800 million adults with diabetes are not receiving treatment. They urged governments to expand screening and cut medicine costs before Saturday's World Diabetes Day. The warnings centred on low- and middle-income countries, where the treatment gap is widest.

The calls drew on a 2024 analysis published in The Lancet by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration and the World Health Organization. It estimated that 828 million adults were living with diabetes in 2022, and that about 59 per cent of those aged 30 and over were untreated. The International Diabetes Federation, which leads the annual awareness day, has separately projected that cases among adults aged 20 to 79 will reach 853 million by 2050.

The International Diabetes Federation said the disease killed about 3.4 million people in 2024. It said millions more faced amputations, kidney failure and blindness that earlier diagnosis could have prevented. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 38 million people have diabetes, with roughly one in five unaware of their condition.

Campaigners also pointed to the arrival this year of cheaper generic semaglutide in markets including India, Canada and Brazil, after key patents expired. Patient groups said falling prices for GLP-1 drugs created an opening to reach more people, but warned that insulin and basic glucose monitoring remained out of reach for many families. Health ministries and hospitals in several countries announced free screening drives timed for the weekend.

The awareness day is held each year on 14 November, the birthday of Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin in 1921. Landmarks around the world were expected to be lit in blue, the colour of the global diabetes symbol, over the weekend.