Diabetes in Pakistan: A nation's struggle
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 3 July 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
British-Pakistani pharmacist turned comedian Lubna Kerr hears from doctors, sufferers, and experts as she explores Pakistan’s growing diabetes crisis. With type 2 diabetes rates now the highest in the world, the disease is affecting millions - shaping lives, straining healthcare, and raising questions about prevention. Many sufferers remain undiagnosed, missing crucial early intervention. But for those who do receive a diagnosis, the ability to monitor blood sugar levels regularly is crucial. Lubna hears about patients who struggle to access glucose monitoring kits, essential for adjusting diet and medication. While urban hospitals offer testing, high costs and limited availability mean that many people, especially in rural areas, are left without the tools they need to manage their condition effectively. Lubna explores attitudes toward diabetes and diet - and how myths and stigma prevent people from seeking diagnosis or treatment.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Everyone in Pakistan knows someone who's affected by type 2 diabetes. |
| 0:06.6 | My elder brother has been into diabetes from about two to three years. |
| 0:11.1 | My husband had diabetes. |
| 0:13.0 | My father was diabetic. |
| 0:14.6 | My father's elder brother was diabetic. |
| 0:17.1 | And because my father was diabetic, so I am at risk. |
| 0:20.5 | After six months, I must go to a physician, which I don't do. |
| 0:23.8 | Whenever I take lecture, I always make a question, then please raise your hand if somebody has no diabetic in their family or their home. |
| 0:34.5 | And unfortunately, in these days, I don't see one hand. |
| 0:40.0 | Diabetes is now at epidemic proportions across this huge country. What can be done to stem or |
| 0:46.0 | reverse the tide? This is the documentary Diabetes in Pakistan, a nation's struggle, from the BBC World Service. |
| 1:02.7 | Hi, I'm Lubnakair. I'm a British-Bakistani pharmacist and also an actor, writer and |
| 1:08.2 | comedian. My mum and brother both had typed to diabetes, |
| 1:12.2 | and as a pharmacist, I've worked in the sector for nearly 20 years, |
| 1:16.2 | seeing it firsthand the impact the disease can have in individuals and families. |
| 1:27.1 | In Pakistan, numbers collected by the International Diabetes Federation are staggering. |
| 1:33.5 | Diabetes isn't just a medical condition, it's a national crisis. |
| 1:38.6 | Salia Azim is a researcher specialising in diabetes and public health at the King Edward Medical University in Lahore. |
| 1:46.2 | Approximately 11.1% of the global population aged 20 to 79 is living with diabetes. |
| 1:53.0 | In Pakistan, this figure is significantly higher, approximately 31.4%. |
| 1:57.8 | Giving the country the highest AIDS-standardised diabetes prevalence in the world. |
| 2:02.4 | 34.5 million people are living with diabetes, and that is expected to rise to 70.2 million |
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