In Martinique, 1 person out of 10 lives today with diabetes: this is the alarming observation that the French Federation of Diabetics wanted to recall during its trip to Martinique. Martinique is indeed the second French department most affected by diabetes, just behind Guadeloupe, since 10.5% of people are affected.
The island unfortunately concentrates many risk factors for diabetes, which partly explain this figure: sedentary population, aging, high rate of overweight and obesity, significant precariousness of a segment of the population, significant consumption of processed products… in short, an explosive cocktail for diabetes.
Added to this are serious complications in the management of diabetes: the densities of general practitioners, endocrinologists, cardiologists and podiatrists are well below the national average. As transport infrastructure is poorly developed, the issue of spatial organization and accessibility of the healthcare offer is of particular importance.
The Martinican territory is confronted with a double major challenge: a poor general state of health of its population, correlated with a shortage of healthcare supply. These aspects are exacerbated by the island specificities of the area, which are found in the other Overseas Departments. The consequences that the health crisis has had on the population – and the social mobilizations they have generated – force us to act on these development delays.
On the occasion of its trip to Martinique, the Federation wished to remind its interlocutors of this reality, as well as to reaffirm the fundamental role played by its local association, AFD 972, which works every day on the island in for people living with diabetes, via primary prevention actions, with schoolchildren, but also thanks to tertiary prevention, thanks to the organization of numerous workshops (dietary, adapted physical activity, etc.).
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