According to the World Health Organization (WHO), epidemiology is the main discipline for studying the needs of the population in health services, to assess their preventive and curative measures.

Therefore, the first edition of Atlas: Diabetes in Ukraine should be welcomed, which provides credible evidence of the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the health of nations and economies.

The Atlas contains both materials from the Atlas of Diabetes, published in 2019 by the International Diabetes Federation, and an overview of statistics on Ukraine for the last 25 years. They can improve the performance of the endocrinology service for the protection of regional features during the creation of the National Diabetes Control Plan. Official statistics will help to compare the prevalence and incidence of diabetes in Ukraine with the results in other countries.Unfortunately, since 2017, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has eliminated the registration of diabetes mellitus (as well as other non-communicable diseases), which has led to a lack of nationally representative data on the main indicators of diabetes. This does not allow to develop a scientifically sound National Plan for Noncommunicable Diseases to Achieve Global Development Goals, adopted by the Government of Ukraine in 2018.

The peer-reviewed publication of the Ukrainian Diabetes Federation "Atlas: Diabetes in Ukraine" provides an overview of available sources published in official periodicals, data from the Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Health and the Register of Patients in Need of Insulin Therapy. The Association of Ukrainian Cities, leading scientific and analytical institutions of the industry also joined the collection of statistics. It is emphasized that the situation with the collection and analysis of statistics in Ukraine is critical and does not meet WHO standards. Accurate regular collection and detailed analysis of statistics remain the only way to ensure equal access to health care and the cost-effectiveness of available resources.

It is important that the Atlas emphasizes the actions to be taken in the fight against diabetes at different levels of care. Among the materials is evidence of the need to improve access to insulin drugs to improve the treatment of diabetes. Emphasis is placed on the importance of improving care for people with diabetes to ensure universal coverage of universal health services (UHC) and reducing the negative impact of diabetes on individuals, their families and society as a whole.

I believe that the Atlas is essential for decision-makers, policy-makers, priorities and budgets for health care in the treatment and prevention of diabetes. The Atlas website will help people with diabetes to find out where to get medical and legal assistance, to undergo self-control training. For the media, the Atlas will contribute to a fuller understanding of the extent of diabetes in Ukraine.

Thus, the first edition of Atlas: Diabetes in Ukraine, recommended for publication, is an important milestone, as experts will have generalized comprehensive information for further development of a targeted strategy to respond to the enormous burden of diabetes.