Share The World Diabetes Day Message This November!

Access To Diabetes Care: If Not Now, When?

WDD is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people in more than 160 countries. The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public and political spotlight.

Every year, the World Diabetes Day 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 – If Not Now, When?.

100 years after the discovery of insulin, millions of people with diabetes around the world cannot access the care they need. People with diabetes require ongoing care and support to manage their condition and avoid complications. We are living in extraordinarily difficult times, in which people with diabetes are facing an additional major health threat. Regretfully, we have seen that people living with diabetes can be more susceptible to the worst complications of COVID-19. We should worry that the legacy of the pandemic will see resources and attention focused on infectious diseases to the detriment of all noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes.

We therefore cannot wait any longer for diabetes medicine, technologies, support and care to be made available to all that require them. The centenary of the discovery of insulin presents a unique opportunity to bring about meaningful change for the more than 460 million people living with diabetes and the millions more at risk. United, the global diabetes community has the numbers, the influence and the determination to bring about meaningful change. We need to take on the challenge. It’s time for governments, policymakers and advocates to act to increase investment in diabetes care and prevention and ensure everyone living with diabetes can access the care they need. If not now, when?

Facts And Figures

Diabetes

•  463 million adults (1-in-11) were living with diabetes in 2019.
•  The number of people living with diabetes is expected rise to 578 million by 2030.
•  More than 3 in 4 people with diabetes live in low and middle-income countries.
•  1 in 6 live births (20 million) are affected by high blood glucose (hyperglycaemia) in pregnancy.
•  Two-thirds of people with diabetes live in urban areas and three-quarters are of working age.
•  1 in 5 people with diabetes (136 million) are above 65 years old.
•  Diabetes caused 4.2 million deaths in 2019.
•  Diabetes was responsible for at least $760 billion in health expenditure in 2019 – 10% of the global total spent on healthcare.
•  Depending on the global region, up to 50% people diagnosed with COVID-19 were living with diabetes.
•  1 in 2 adults with diabetes remain undiagnosed (232 million). The majority have type 2 diabetes.

Access to Diabetes Care

•  Tens of thousands of people with type 1 diabetes who need insulin to survive and more than 30 million with type 2 diabetes who require insulin do not have access to a reliable and affordable supply.
•  In Africa, 86% of people with type 2 diabetes are unable to access the insulin they need.
•  63% of households in low-income countries are unable to afford insulin, along with 2.8% of households in highincome countries.
•  26.9% of households in low-income countries, and 0.7% of households in high-income countries, cannot afford the medication Metformin.

Share The World Diabetes Day Message This November!

Take part in the World Diabetes Day campaign to raise awareness of diabetes and the need for greater access to care around the world. Your participation – both in the build-up to and following 14 November 2021 – is key to the success of the campaign. If your region or community is observing physical distancing guidelines due to COVID-19, you can set up online activities.

How You Can Get Involved

•  Pledge your support for greater access to diabetes care by supporting our online petition.
•  Lobby a local or national policy-maker to ensure that all people with diabetes have access to the care they need.
•  Organise a ‘Learn about diabetes’ event in schools.
•  Help people learn their potential risk of type 2 diabetes with our online test.
•  Organise or participate in a local diabetes awareness walk.
•  Light up a local landmark, your home or workplace in blue.
•  Arrange an activity with your work colleagues.

Exercise In Blue

Regular physical activity is an important part of diabetes management and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Whether indoors or outdoors, every step counts to help stay healthy! If physical distancing measures for COVID-19 in your community allow: Join the Global Diabetes Walk, an initiative created by the World Diabetes Foundation in support of World Diabetes Day. Take to the streets to raise awareness of the impact of diabetes and the importance of physical activity.

If outdoor activities in your community are restricted, walk or exercise in your home or workplace and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to join in.

Whichever way you exercise make sure to wear blue and show your support for #WorldDiabetesDay and the #IfNotNowWhen campaign.

For more information on World Diabetes Day, click here.

–

Article sourced from International Diabetes Federation.