From awareness to action: How rural India can win against diabetes

Dr Vinayak Sonawane, Associate Director-Health, Ambuja Foundation, highlights how the rising burden of diabetes in rural India demands a community-led response

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Few years ago, the women of Mehma Sawai village in Punjab were struggling with their health. The Primary Health Centre was four kilometres away, transport was scarce, and conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease — combined with a traditional Punjabi calorie rich diet were quietly taking a toll.

Today, however, Mehma Sawai tells a different story. Local community health volunteers have transformed the village's health landscape. Through home visits, a new nutrition centre, the promotion of kitchen gardening, and the formation of a morning walking group, they have sparked layers of awareness about lifestyle factors, preventive health, and the belief that small changes can lead to big outcomes.

Diabetes in India’s heartlands

Diabetes is one of the fastest-growing health challenges in the world and India sits squarely at its epicentre. More than 100 million Indians live with diabetes today, many in their most productive years. Globally, nearly 430 million people with diabetes are of working age, facing silent yet significant challenges in both urban and rural workplaces from stigma and exclusion to the lack of access to screening, care, and support for their well-being.

In rural India, where healthcare access and awareness remain limited, the problem is especially pressing. Once considered a disease of the cities, diabetes has now spread deep into the country's heartlands. The reasons are complex but increasingly familiar: sedentary lifestyles, rising stress, and changing food habits trends once confined to urban centres are now common in villages too. Agricultural mechanisation has reduced physical labour, migration for work has disrupted traditional diets, and processed foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates have become part of everyday life.