Ambia Khatun has been almost bed-ridden for the last one year. She has not even been able to take a walk in her neighbourhood or see her relatives as the right part of her body became numb since she suffered a stroke a year back.

Three-and-a-half-year-old Ashfia Waniya slumped over a desk at the children's ward in a city hospital on November 4, her legs swinging below. She was waiting for her turn to come for a diabetes checkup.

Diabetes is a global epidemic, and this epidemic is rising faster in developing countries like Bangladesh than in developed ones.

Rashed, a diabetic patient in his late 50s, is lying in the hospital bed. He is waiting to hear back from the nurse about his OT schedule.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh is increasing rapidly. The country ranks second among South Asian nations with the highest number of diabetic adults. Previously known to afflict only the affluent, diabetes is now a health concern among the rural population as well.