'Lets take control of diabetes, now'
Introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and World Health Organisation in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat that diabetes poses, World Diabetes Day (WDD) is celebrated every year on NOVEMBER 14. The day engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness.
WDD became an official United Nations Day in 2007 with the passage of United Nation Resolution 61/225, proposed by the government of Bangladesh and backed by Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, which became instrumental in campaigning for this resolution to draw attention to issues of paramount importance and to keeps diabetes firmly in the public spotlight.
The WDD logo was also adopted in 2007 to mark the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution. The logo is the blue circle -- the global symbol for diabetes -- which was developed as part of the Unite for Diabetes awareness campaign. The significance of the blue circle symbol is overwhelmingly positive, portraying the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes pandemic. Across cultures, the circle symbolises life and health. The colour blue reflects the sky that unites all nations and is the colour of the United Nations flag.
Each year, WDD is centered on a theme related to diabetes. Topics covered in the past have included diabetes and human rights, diabetes and lifestyle, and the costs of diabetes. This year sees the second of a five-year campaign that will address the growing need for diabetes education and prevention programmes. The campaign slogan for 2011 is "Let's take control of diabetes, now."
The day is celebrated on November 14 to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1921. WDD is celebrated worldwide by the over 200 member associations of the Inter-national Diabetes Federation in more than 160 countries and territories, all member states of the United Nations, as well as by other associations and organisations, companies, healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes and their families.
Diabetes Education and Preven-tion is the WDD theme for the period 2009-2013. The campaign calls on all those responsible for diabetes care to understand diabetes and take control. For people with diabetes: empowerment through education. For governments: implementation of effective strategies and policies for the prevention and management of diabetes to safeguard the health of their citizens with and at risk of diabetes. For healthcare professionals: improvement of knowledge so that evidence-based recommendations are put into practice. For the general public: understanding the serious impact of diabetes and knowing, where possible, how to avoid or delay diabetes and its complications.
Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases, clinically known as Diabetes mellitus, in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Glucose is vital to human health because it is the main source of energy for the cells that make up muscles and tissues and the main source of fuel for the body.
Type 1 diabetes results from the body's failure to produce insulin, and requires the person to inject insulin (also referred to as insulin-dependent Diabetes mellitus, IDDM for short, and juvenile diabetes). Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly, sometimes combined with an absolute insulin deficiency. Gestational diabetes is when pregnant women, who have never had diabetes before, have a high blood glucose level during pregnancy. It may precede development of type 2 DM. All forms of diabetes have been treatable since insulin became available in 1921, and type 2 diabetes may be controlled with medication. Adequate treatment of diabetes is important, as well as blood pressure control, stopping smoking, and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Diabetes imposes a large economic burden on national healthcare systems. Expenditures on diabetes accounted for 11.6% of the total healthcare expenditure in the world in 2010. About 95% of the countries spend 5% or more, and about 80% of the countries spend between 5% and 13% of their total healthcare expenditure on diabetes. Global health expenditures to prevent and treat diabetes and its complications totaled $376 billion in 2010. By 2030, this number will exceed $490 billion.
A study shows that Diabetes mellitus occurs throughout the world, but is more common (especially type 2) in the more developed countries. The greatest increase in prevalence is, however, expected to occur in Eastern Mediterranean (180%), Africa (160%) and Asia (155%) region, where most patients will probably be found by 2030. The increase in incidence of diabetes in developing countries follows the trend of urbanisation and lifestyle changes, including what is popularly known as fast food diet. This suggests an environmental (i.e., dietary) effect, but there is little understanding of the mechanism(s) at the moment.
The Center for Disease Control has termed the change an epidemic. The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse of the US estimates that diabetes costs $132 billion in the United States alone every year. The American Diabetes Association cites the 2003 assessment of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion that 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. The economic burden of diabetes could be reduced by implementing inexpensive, easy-to-use interventions, and by introducing prevention programmes.
These interventions and prevention programmes should be widely used in poor and middle income countries. More resources should be invested to deliver these cost-effective interventions, in particular to those in the developing countries where the great majority of persons with diabetes live.
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