Karachi: An estimated 34 diabetes-related amputations are being performed every hour in Pakistan, translating into nearly 300,000 annually, as specialists warn that timely treatment of foot ulcers and infections could prevent many patients from losing their feet and lower limbs.
Against this backdrop, a round-the-clock diabetic foot helpline has been launched to provide immediate guidance to people with diabetes experiencing foot problems, while a two-year postgraduate diploma in diabetic foot care is also being introduced to build a specialised workforce for prevention and limb salvage.
Announcing the initiatives at the inaugural session of the International Conference on Diabetes & Diabetic Foot 2026 in Karachi, Director Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE) Prof Zahid Miyan said Pakistan faced an enormous but largely preventable burden of diabetic foot complications.
He said the helpline, 0330-6666774, would remain operational 24 hours a day and focus specifically on people with diabetes who develop foot wounds, ulcers, infections or other warning signs requiring medical attention.
According to Prof Miyan, more than three million people in Pakistan are living with diabetic foot ulcers and could potentially benefit from improved access to advice and timely referral.
“Nearly three lakh amputations are performed annually on diabetic patients in Pakistan,” he said, stressing that early recognition and appropriate management of diabetic foot disease could prevent a significant number of amputations.
Prof Miyan said the problem had assumed greater significance because every third Pakistani was estimated to have diabetes, either diagnosed or undiagnosed.
Diabetes, he added, was not confined to high blood glucose but was a major contributor to diabetic foot disease, kidney failure and blindness, besides significantly increasing the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke.
He called for a greater national focus on prevention, evidence-based medicine and dissemination of scientific knowledge instead of waiting for patients to develop irreversible complications.
Prof Miyan also announced the launch of the first two-year postgraduate diploma dedicated to diabetic foot care, with the first batch scheduled for induction in January 2027.
The programme is intended to train healthcare professionals in prevention, early identification and management of diabetic foot disease, including measures aimed at avoiding amputations.
Its international faculty will include Prof Frances Game of the United Kingdom, Prof Eric Senneville of France, Prof Roberto Anichini of Italy, Prof Zulfiqar G. Abbas of Tanzania and Prof Salma Khuraibet of Kuwait, along with Pakistani experts in diabetes and diabetic foot management.
Prof Javed Akram, founding president of the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM), said Pakistan needed to shift greater attention towards preventing diabetes and its complications rather than managing patients only after irreversible organ damage had occurred.
He said the consequences of poorly controlled diabetes extended from cardiovascular disease and renal failure to blindness and loss of limbs, creating a major health and financial burden for patients, families and the healthcare system.
Chairman of the conference organising committee Dr Muhammad Saif Ul Haque said the helpline and postgraduate training programme addressed two different but interconnected problems: patients often lacked timely guidance when a foot problem first appeared, while the country also needed more healthcare professionals specifically trained in diabetic foot management.
He said apparently minor wounds could progress to ulcers, serious infections and ultimately amputation if people with diabetes delayed seeking appropriate care.
International diabetic foot expert Prof Zulfiqar G. Abbas said low- and middle-income countries carried a disproportionately high share of the global diabetes burden, with around 80 percent of people with diabetes living in this part of the world.
Recalling the longstanding global warning that diabetes was resulting in the loss of a foot every 30 seconds around 25 years ago, he said the situation remained alarming despite major advances in medical science.
“Education is the only way forward in our part of the world,” Prof Abbas said, arguing that education and practical training in prevention and diabetic foot management could have a far greater impact in resource-limited countries than dependence on sophisticated technologies alone.
He said initiatives to train healthcare professionals in diabetic foot management offered a practical opportunity to reduce preventable amputations and disability.
Renowned cardiologist Dr Akram Sultan, speaking on metabolic syndrome, highlighted the close relationship between diabetes, obesity, hypertension, abnormal blood lipids and cardiovascular disease.
He called for lifestyle changes and early detection and management of metabolic risk factors to reduce heart attacks, strokes and other complications associated with diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Baqai Medical University Vice Chancellor Dr Iftikhar Ahmed and other national and international experts also addressed the inaugural session, stressing prevention, professional training and multidisciplinary management to reduce diabetes-related complications, disability and premature deaths.