Ukraine needs to restore diabetic-foot clinics – expert

Valentyna Ocheretenko, chair of the Council of the Ukrainian Diabetic Federation (UDF), says Ukraine must restore diabetic-foot clinics to help prevent amputations as a complication of diabetes.

"The issue of diabetic-foot care has been on the agenda in Ukraine since 1993 at the initiative of the UDF. We did a lot to open diabetic-foot clinics. They were in almost every region, but during the healthcare reform those clinics were closed because they turned out to be unprofitable," she said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

Ocheretenko said it is difficult to calculate the current number of amputations, but it is known that people not only lose limbs but sometimes die on the operating table when amputations are done too late.

"First, amputations should not happen, therefore we must restore diabetic-foot clinics. Second, if an amputation is necessary, it must be performed in a timely manner," she said.

According to the Public Health Center, before the war more than 70% of annual amputations were caused by diabetes. In addition, up to 10% of people with diabetes suffer from foot ulcers.

Official statistics show that as of 2017 about 1.5 million people in Ukraine had diabetes.