Diabetes is a chronic health condition that has been increasing globally and in the Middle East in particular. The global estimate of people living with diabetes in 2019 is half a billion and is estimated to increase by 25 % in 2030 and reach 51 % by 2045. The below Map shows high prevalence of diabetes in the middle east with specific high levels in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon reaching an average Diabetes prevalence of 19.6%.Potential solutions can follow an Upstream approach – or addressing the problem at its source by decreasing the risk of developing diabetes from infancy. According to CDC evidence suggests that exclusive breastfeeding for a minimum of 6 months in infancy may reduce the prevalence of diabetes in later life. However, the lack of continued support for exclusive breastfeeding led to a recent decline in the practice in the Middle East according to UNICEF.

To validate this point the below map visualization shows that countries with high diabetes prevalence also have low levels of exclusive breastfeeding by mothers for 6 months. Specifically, here we highlight Saudi Arabia’s case in the Middle East which has an average value of only 4.72 %. If we take Peru as an example, the below box plot show that they have high exclusive breastfeeding levels and low prevalence for diabetes.

Recommendations:

In light of these findings, we can conclude that breastfed babies have lower risk of developing diabetes therefore one way to decrease diabetes prevalence would be to decrease the child’s risk for diabetes from infancy. Helpful implementations would include to:

• Help pregnant women learn about the importance of breastfeeding for their babies and themselves.
• Give mothers the support they need to breastfeed their babies
• Use community-based organizations to promote and support breastfeeding