Curaçao is facing a health crisis that is quietly growing into a national emergency. Approximately one in five adults on the island is living with diabetes, according to figures shared by Curaçao Medical Center (CMC). Let that sink in. Twenty percent of our adult population is battling a chronic disease that, in many cases, is preventable.
This is not a minor statistic. This is not background noise. This is a flashing red warning light.
Healthcare institutions have already sounded the alarm: without urgent intervention, Curaçao’s healthcare system risks reaching a breaking point. And yet, where is the national debate? Where are the urgent parliamentary sessions? Where are the political campaigns built around this reality?
This is something serious. This is what our politicians and government need to be talking about.
Instead, public discourse is often dominated by popularity contests, political maneuvering and short-term optics. Diabetes is not a popularity issue. It is not flashy. It does not win votes overnight. But it is slowly and steadily weakening our community.
The recent high-level meeting at CMC brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature (GMN), the Social Insurance Bank (SVB), the General Practitioners Association of Curaçao and other healthcare partners. Experts from the Dutch specialized treatment center Diabeter also joined to help think through solutions. That is encouraging.
But meetings alone will not solve this.
Type 2 diabetes, which is largely linked to lifestyle factors such as diet, physical inactivity and obesity, represents the biggest challenge. In many cases, it can be prevented or delayed. Yet prevention requires early detection, education, structured guidance and sustained policy commitment.
Meanwhile, approximately 180 people in Curaçao — including children — live with type 1 diabetes. These patients depend on insulin for life. For them, consistent access to quality care is not optional; it is survival.
Healthcare providers are already reporting bottlenecks: shortages of specialized personnel, limited reimbursement structures and long waiting times for consultations. The consequences are visible. More kidney failure. More amputations. More cases of blindness. These are not abstract risks. These are life-altering outcomes.
And here is the uncomfortable truth: the community is sick, and too many people do not even seem to care.
We normalize unhealthy eating. We accept sedentary lifestyles. We overlook warning signs. We postpone checkups. We shrug at statistics. Meanwhile, the healthcare system absorbs the cost — financially and humanly.
Diabetes must now be treated as a national public health emergency. Not next year. Not after elections. Now.
This means:
• Serious investment in prevention programs in schools and communities.
• Aggressive public awareness campaigns about nutrition and physical activity.
• Early screening and monitoring programs.
• Stronger primary healthcare coordination.
• Budget prioritization that reflects the scale of the crisis.
Structural reforms and coordinated action are no longer optional. If the burden continues to rise, healthcare costs will escalate, productivity will decline and quality of life for thousands of families will deteriorate.
The organizations involved are working on a joint action plan. That is a start. But plans must translate into execution — and execution requires political will.
This is what our leaders should be debating. This is what should dominate headlines. This is the issue that will determine whether Curaçao’s future is sustainable.
A nation cannot prosper if its people are chronically ill.
It is time to stop treating diabetes as a medical issue alone. It is a societal issue. An economic issue. A political issue.
Curaçao must decide whether it will confront this crisis head-on — or continue to look the other way while the numbers climb.