The United Nations (UN)’s World Diabetes Day (WDD) is annually observed across the globe on 14th November to create awareness about Diabetes, a global public health issue, and its impact on the health of people.
The day also aims to highlight the opportunities to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes.
World Diabetes Day Campaign:
World Diabetes Day is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign.
Theme: Every year, WDD campaign focuses on a dedicated theme that runs for one or more years.
- The theme for World Diabetes Day 2021-23 is “Access to Diabetes Care”.
- “Education to protect tomorrow” is the theme of the 2nd year of the World Diabetes Day 2021-23 campaign.
According to the World Health Organisation(WHO), the theme of WDD 2022 is “Access to Diabetes Education” which underpins the multi-year theme of ‘Access to Diabetes Care’.
Background:
i.International Diabetes Federation(IDF) and the WHO jointly created World Diabetes Day (WDD) to address the growing concerns about the health threat posed by Diabetes.
- WDD has been observed on 14th November at the global level by IDF since 1991.
ii.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/61/225 on 20th December 2006 and proclaimed the 14th November of every year as World Diabetes Day beginning in 2007.
- The first ever UN recognised WDD was observed on 14th November 2007.
Why November 14?
The 14th November marks the birth anniversary of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922.
WDD Representation:
i.The campaign of WDD is represented by the blue circle logo.
ii.The logo was adopted by the UN following the passage of the resolution on Diabetes in 2007.
iii.The logo signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to diabetes epidemic.
Diabetes:
i.Diabetes is a chronic disease than occurs when the production of insulin by the pancreas is not enough or when the body fails to effectively use the insulin. This will result in an increased concentration of glucose in the blood (hyperglycaemia).
ii.The types of diabetes include,
- Type 1 diabetes (previously known as insulin-dependent or childhood-onset diabetes) is characterized by a lack of insulin production.
- Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes) is caused by the body’s ineffective use of insulin. It often results from excess body weight and physical inactivity.
- Gestational diabetes is hyperglycaemia that is first recognized during pregnancy.
- Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar is high, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes.
Key Points:
i.Globally, in the last 3 decades, the number of people living with diabetes (PLWD) has increased from 108 million to 420 million and in 20 years, the mortality from diabetes has increased by 70% across the globe.
ii.India is ranked 2nd after China in the global diabetes epidemic with 77 million people with diabetes. Of these, 12.1 million are aged above 65 years, which is estimated to increase to 27.5 million in the year 2045.
iii.It is estimated that around 57% of adults with diabetes are undiagnosed in India, which is approximately 43.9 million.
About International Diabetes Federation(IDF):
President– Prof Andrew Boulton
Headquarters– Brussels, Belgium
Founded in 1950
