First United Nations World Diabetes Day unites global diabetes group to combat epidemic

at the first United Nations World Diabetes Day, the International Diabetes Alliance called on governments to develop national policies to prevent, care for and treat diabetes, and called on global donors to consider setting up a global fund to combat the growing epidemic of diabetesdisease
Speaking at a world diabetes day press conference, DrMartin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Alliance, explained that curbing the spread of diabetes will require policy changes and more funding"Diabetes is now seen as a major threat tohealthglobally," says Dr SilinkIt is one of the most destructivediseases ever found in theofdiseases, yet there is a shortage of funds for diabetes compared to other diseases"
14 November this year is the first United Nations Day of Concern for the original World Diabetes DayResolution 61/225 was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UN General Assembly) at the end of last yearThe resolution designated November 14 as World Diabetes Day, the official United Nations day of concern, making diabetes the only disease other than HIV/AIDS that has an official United Nations day of concern The World Diabetes Day resolution describes diabetes as "a major threat to the family, member states and the world as a whole" This is the first time that noncommunicable diseases, along with infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, have been seen as a serious global threat to health Statistics from the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization (WHO) show that more than 246 million people worldwide now have diabetes Without major initiatives, the number will reach 380 million by 2025 (i) at the first United Nations World Diabetes Day press conference in New York today, Jean-Claude Mbanya, the next president of the International Diabetes Alliance, explains why the growing widespread disregard for the growing threat of diabetes has contributed to the diabetes epidemic: "Diabetes has long been neglected as 'not serious', 'eat too much sugar' or 'old age and wealthy disease' The growing threat of diabetes over the years has been grossly ignored Successive generations have failed to take decisive action Diabetes has quietly developed into a major disaster for health around the world Dr Mbanya said it was time to take steps to address the threat of diabetes: "The political momentum generated by this World Diabetes Day resolution, the concerted support of powerful diabetes groups, and the introduction of cheap medicines have created an opportunity for the government to pursue policies to prevent diabetes and related complications." "
diabetes afflicts about 6 percent of adults worldwide It is a leading factor leading to blindness, heart , stroke, kidney failure and amputation Diabetes has become a global cause of death, with more than 3.8 million deaths each year, more than the total number of deaths from HIV/AIDS and malaria One person dies from diabetes-related diseases every 10 seconds Two people also develop diabetes every 10 seconds Diabetes is a costly disease that places a heavy burden on individuals, families and health health systems It has the potential to undermine economic development, especially in developing countries, where the burden of diabetes is now the most severe The annual cost of preventing and treating diabetes is now estimated to exceed $232 billion That figure will grow to more than $302 billion over 20 years More than 80 per cent of these investments are made in the world's most developed countries However, the majority of people with diabetes (70 per cent of the total) are found in developing countries Despite the widespread and severe prevalence of diabetes, it has not attracted significant amounts of money from donors For example, overseas development assistance (Overseas Development Aid) to health was $2.9 billion in 2002 Most of this money is spent on supporting communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS Of the total global funding, only 0.1 per cent is used to support all non-communicable chronic diseases, including diabetes Although the adoption of the resolution has created enormous political momentum, significant financial resources are needed to effectively address the diabetes epidemic Aware of this need, the International Diabetes Alliance is exploring the feasibility of establishing a global funding body for diabetes based on an analysis of existing global health health financing mechanisms and consultationwith with multiple shareholder groups "Everyone should fully implement a national plan to prevent and treat diabetes," Dr Silink said at the end of the news conference It is time to significantly improve the status of 246 million people with diabetes and to launch effective strategies to prevent diabetes "
(i) Diabetes Atlas (third edition), International Diabetes Alliance, 2006; 1:19