[Bhekisisa] Roughly 60 000 South Africans die in a year from diseases that are not caused by an infection such as tuberculosis (TB) or HIV -- before they turn 70. About a fifth of these deaths are from diabetes, which is now the country's leading cause of death, killing about 1.5 times more people than TB. But without getting better at diagnosing and treating people with diabetes, trying to hit a global goal for lowering these deaths anytime soon will be futile, experts say.
