India, April 16 -- About half of all adults with type 2 diabetes remain undiagnosed

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a Global Diabetes Compact to better fight the disease while marking the centenary of the discovery of insulin. The programme will focus on scaling up access to diagnostic tools and medicines in low- and middle-income countries, said a WHO press note.

Diabetes is one of the major comorbid conditions linked to severe COVID-19 infections. "The number of people with diabetes has quadrupled in the last 40 years. It is the only major noncommunicable disease for which the risk of dying early is going up, rather than down," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.

About half of all adults with type 2...