Kabul, Nov 15 (IANS): More than 19,700 people die due to diabetes in Afghanistan annually, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The 2012 International Diabetes Federation finding shows that 19,773 out of some 849,000 people affected by diabetes die of the disease annually in Afghanistan," said Qamaruddin Hafiz, a senior ministry official.
Hafiz said the ministry was making efforts to find the causes of the non-communicable disease and create awareness among people for diagnosis and treatment, reports Xinhua news agency.
On Tuesday, the country marked World Diabetes Day with a theme of raising awareness among the people and to reduce the disease rate.