Afrigather Based on data from the Worldwide Diabetes Federation, diabetes brought on an estimated 96,000 deaths in South Africa in 2021. Moreover, the illness impacts 1 in 9 grownup South Africans, with 45.4% of individuals dwelling with the illness within the nation undiagnosed.
Over the past years, quite a few healthtech corporations within the nation have put merchandise available on the market which search to alleviate the nation’s healthcare system to deal with the illness.
In February, Nasdaq-listed international healthtech agency Dexcom launched its flagship steady glucose monitoring system, the Dexcom G7, in South Africa. Dexcom claims that the low-profile, all-in-one wearable warms up quicker than another CGM available on the market, sending real-time glucose readings mechanically to a appropriate sensible machine or receiver with out utilizing painful finger sticks or scanning.
“The subsequent-generation Dexcom G7 CGM System empowers customers and helps simplify diabetes administration with our smallest, most intuitive real-time CGM. Bringing our expertise to extra individuals world wide continues to be a prime precedence and we’re thrilled that the diabetes neighborhood in South Africa will likely be amongst the primary, outdoors of Europe, to expertise the advantages of G7,” mentioned Alex Moussa, Senior Vice President and Basic Supervisor EMEA, Dexcom.
One other welcome technological development within the struggle in opposition to diabetes is the launch of the partnership between worldwide healthtech agency Olink and a Cape City-based protein processing facility to analysis quite a few ailments together with diabetes.
The ability, D-CYPHR, permits entry to proteomics and metabolomics applied sciences and experience. It helps advanced scientific and organic analysis that isn’t doable elsewhere on this area.
“One of many aims of the DIPLOMICS programme is to allow and enhance entry to high-calibre ‘omics applied sciences and experience. Via the D-CYPHR laboratory, we’re excited concerning the introduction of the Olink expertise, which can dramatically enhance the standard and throughput of superior proteomics analysis in South Africa,” mentioned Dr Tim Newman, Program Supervisor for DIPLOMICS.
Accessibility drawback nonetheless persists
Regardless of the prevalence of applied sciences reminiscent of Dexcom’s G7, they’re solely accessible to people who’ve medical health insurance plans.
Based on a report by GetSavvi well being, out of South Africa’s inhabitants of over 54 million individuals, solely 17.4% are coated by a South African medical scheme. Because of this solely 9.5 million South Africans have entry to non-public medical care whereas greater than 44 million don’t.
This presents a significant problem as with diabetes, the longer it stays undiagnosed, the tougher it is going to be to struggle it. When diabetes is undetected or inadequately handled, individuals with diabetes are prone to critical and life-threatening issues, reminiscent of coronary heart assault, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower-limb amputation.
Based on a healthcare skilled who spoke to TechCabal on situation of anonymity, to efficiently struggle the diabetes conflict in South Africa utilizing expertise, there needs to be a consideration to construct merchandise past simply these which handle the situation.
“The principle drawback in South Africa is that individuals are not conscious that they do have diabetes. They solely discover out when it’s too late. In order a lot as expertise in managing the illness is a welcome improvement, it has to increase to past that. There needs to be improvements which notify people who they’ve the situation earlier than it’s too late,” the supply mentioned.
This can be a problem, particularly for healthtech startups in South Africa. Healthcare fairness will solely be achieved if all people who want healthcare are conscious that they want it and afterwards, have unmitigated entry to it.
As diabetes continues to severely have an effect on the South African inhabitants, expertise has up to now performed a major function within the struggle in opposition to the illness however there may be nonetheless a lot extra to be accomplished within the struggle.
