14 November is World Diabetes Day. This year, the focus of the World Diabetes Day Campaign is Access to Diabetes Care - If Not Now, When?

 

Millions of people around the world do not have access to diabetes care. People with diabetes require ongoing care and support, but many have to wait for medicine, technologies and care. There is thus a need to make this support available to all people with diabetes, and this can be done if governments increase their investment in diabetes care and prevention.

 

Approximately 1 in 10 people around the globe have diabetes. 3 in 4 people with diabetes live in low and middle-income countries. Almost half of all people living with diabetes are undiagnosed, and 1 in 2 people who need insulin cannot access or afford it. It is estimated that by 2045, 700 million people will be living with diabetes.

 

There is thus a need to ensure affordable access to fundamental care for people who live with diabetes and policies that can improve the prevention of type 2 diabetes. There is also a need to improve screening to ensure timely diagnosis and prevent diabetes-related complications.

 

World Diabetes Day was created by International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organization in 1991 due to the growing concerns regarding the escalating threat posed by diabetes.

 

World Diabetes Days became an official United Nations Day in 2006, and since then, it has been marked every year on 14 November in honour of the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin with Charles Best in 1922.

 

World Diabetes Day aims to promote IDF advocacy efforts and be a global driver to highlight the need for coordinated and concerted actions to confront diabetes as a critical global health issue.

 

Source: Worlddiabetesday.org

Image Credit: iStock

 

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