Fueled by high sugar diets, processed food, misinformation and a dearth of early intervention, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is a persistent public health crisis in Southeast Asia. One of every 14 people in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand has some form of diabetes, according to the World Health Organization. The majority of patients contract Type 2, the most preventable form of the disease. Health officials know more about the disease than ever before, and in Singapore, hospitals and clinics offer widespread screening. Nevertheless, across the region, a lack of coherent government policies to prevent and treat the disease stymies progress fighting it.
