The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, an independent charitable organization, has expanded its 'Together on Diabetes' initiative in India and China, pledging $15 million over five years to help these developing nations with rapidly growing numbers of type 2 diabetes patients.

The International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) reports that more than 90 million people in China – 9.3 per cent of the population – had type 2 diabetes in 2011, the most of any country. That figure is projected to grow to 129.7 million, or 12.1 per cent of the population, by 2030.

India, which has 61.26 million people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (8.3 percent of the population), ranks second only to China in total cases and third behind the United States (10.9 per cent) and China in terms of prevalence. By 2030, India will have 101.2 million people with type 2 diabetes, IDF projects.

“In keeping with a long legacy of addressing global health issues through innovative and sustainable philanthropic programmes, Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation are pleased to expand our philanthropic work in type 2 diabetes to China and India, where the disease has become a significant public health concern,” said Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “We look forward to working with the Shanghai Charity Foundation to improve the management of type 2 diabetes in Shanghai.”

“As their populations grow older and more sedentary, health authorities in China and India are seeing many of the same problems experienced by their Western counterparts, namely obesity and type 2 diabetes,” said John Damonti, president, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and vice president, Corporate Philanthropy, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “What’s worse, we are seeing only the tip of the iceberg. For every patient in China or India who has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, there are several others who are undiagnosed or considered pre-diabetic. That is why Bristol-Myers Squibb and its Foundation are introducing to China and India the Together on Diabetes model developed in the United States and working with prestigious partners in both countries to address this growing public health issue.”

The additional $15 million commitment for Together on Diabetes builds upon more than a decade of work by the Foundation and its partners in China to reduce health disparities and fight serious diseases by strengthening community-based health care worker capacity and integrating medical care and community-based supportive services. The first Together on Diabetes grants in India and additional grants in China will be announced later.

Together on Diabetes is a model developed in the United States that aims to improve health outcomes of people living with type 2 diabetes by strengthening patient self-management education, community-based supportive services and broad-based community mobilization.