The First Lady sings Umshini Wam'

Makhosi Khoza has made South Africa's First Lady number four Madame Bongi Ngema-Zuma sing her husband Jacob Zuma's favourite tune Umshini Wam' live on The Work Zone on East Coast Radio.

Ngema-Zuma was a special guest on the show earlier this morning.
 
She was on the show to talk about diabetes - with today being World Diabetes Day (14 November).

Ngema-Zuma was born and bred in Umlazi - a township south of Durban.

She is a highly educated and astute businesswoman.

The First Lady matriculated at Ohlange Institute at Inanda - north of Durban.

She studied Business Administration and Marketing and worked at various companies in Johannesburg.

Ngema-Zuma is currently busy with her MBA but she still finds time to campaign for diabetes awareness and care through her foundation for diabetes prevention.

She is the founder and trustee of the Bongi Ngema-Zuma Foundation which she established in 2010. She has a vision of reversing the frightening growth of diabetes across the country.

The First Lady has first-hand experience with diabetes. She shared her story with Makhosi.

"I was first exposed to diabetes at a very young age when my mother was diagnosed with it. My mother's sisters also all had diabetes as did my aunt from my father's side. As you can see I'm very much genetically predisposed to develop diabetes," she said.

She told Makhosi that it was for this reason that she made diabetes her cause.

Diabetes (often called a sugar sickness) is a disorder in which the blood sugar levels get too high or too low.

It is one of the foremost health concerns in the world - both the developed and the developing world - with more than 371 million people affected worldwide and between 4.5 million and 6.2 million people in South Africa.

The disease dubbed "the silent killer" is now the third-highest cause of death in South Africa.

An estimated 1.5 million South Africans are living with diabetes and are not even aware of it.

It is estimated that another five million South Africans have pre-diabetes, a condition where insulin resistance causes blood glucose levels to be higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be type 2 diabetes.

The highest prevalence of diabetes is among the Indian population in South Africa (11-13%) as this group has a strong genetic predisposition for diabetes.

This is followed by 8-10% in the coloured community, 5-8% among blacks and 4% among whites.

Ngema-Zuma said it is a great concern that many South Africans don't know much about diabetes and they sometimes fail to understand just how serious the condition is. She explained how her foundation hopes to change this.

The First Lady shed some light on the subject and discussed risk factors, screening and treatment strategies for the condition.

To  end on a high note (pun intended) Makhosi asked Ngema-Zuma to sing Umshini Wam' and opening with producer Phumlani Dube's hidden vocal talents, they broke into chorus, giving this discussion about diabetes an entertaining ending.

Click below to listen to the full interview.

- Phumlani Dube (The Work Zone producer)