Diabetes crisis deepens: Over 3.4m Pakistanis at risk of amputations: experts

KARACHI: Around 10 percent of people with diabetes in Pakistan suffer from diabetic foot, leaving more than 3.4 million at risk of severe ulcers or amputations, experts have warned, as the country struggles with the highest diabetes prevalence rate in the world.

Speaking at the inauguration of a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary clinic at the Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE), they said diabetes is silently fuelling heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, blindness and long-term disability, making it one of Pakistan’s deadliest and costliest health challenges.

BIDE Director Prof Zahid Miyan said diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure and amputations globally and one of the main triggers of stroke.

“These are not just statistics — these are lives being lost or permanently changed,” he stressed, warning that without urgent interventions, the human and economic toll will keep rising.

The newly-inaugurated facility features 15 purpose-built clinics and more than 30 specialist consultants to provide integrated treatment for diabetes and its complications under one roof.

The services include a cardiac clinic, neurology and stroke clinic, nephrology clinic and eye clinic, ensuring that patients receive timely, coordinated and comprehensive care.

Trustee of the Baqai Foundation, Fizza Baqai, who performed the ribbon-cutting, called the hospital “not just a building, but a promise of hope, healing, and better lives.”

The ceremony was attended by senior executives from some of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies — including Atco Pharma, PharmEvo, Novo Nordisk Pakistan, Hoechst Pakistan, Maxtech, Martin Dow, Getz, Searle Laboratories, Highnoon Pharma and Horizon — as well as senior health and police officials.

PharmEvo and Premier Group CEO Haroon Qasim lauded BIDE’s services as a major step toward making quality, accessible healthcare a reality in Pakistan.

BIDE Deputy Director Dr Saif ul Haq said the centre’s multidisciplinary approach is designed to address Pakistan’s diabetes burden in its entirety, from prevention and early detection to the treatment of complex complications, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025