Diabetes is becoming an increasing global health crisis, with estimates showing that 589 million adults aged 20–79 are currently living with the disease worldwide, meaning that 1 in every 9 adults has diabetes. Further estimates suggest that by 2050 this number could rise to 853 million.
The situation in Pakistan is particularly alarming. According to the latest figures, the prevalence rate of diabetes among adults is 31.4 percent, which means around 34.5 million people. This makes Pakistan the country with the highest diabetes burden in the world.
At the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, diabetes now accounts for a major share of OPD visits and inpatient care. A large number of patients present with complications such as diabetic foot, neuropathy and kidney problems. This growing burden may put severe pressure on available hospital resources in the future. It is estimated that around 10,000 or more patients are on regular follow up for diabetes in the PIMS medical OPD, and this number is steadily increasing every month.
From late October to November 2025, the General Medicine Department, led by Professor Dr Shiffat Khatoon, initiated various educational and awareness activities, including programs held at IMCB H-9/4 Islamabad and COMSATS University. From November 19 to 26, a pre conference workshop and the main World Diabetes Day 2025 conference were held at PIMS. These included lifestyle related group sessions, an AI in medicine training workshop, keynote speeches, panel discussions and public awareness programs.
An awareness program was also organized by the General Medicine Department and physicians from multiple specialties, emphasizing preventive measures such as a balanced diet, low sugar intake, regular exercise, stress reduction and routine screening. All these integrated activities clearly reflect that PIMS is continuing its strong commitment to tackling the growing diabetes epidemic through community outreach, preventive education, early screening and advanced medical training.
