World Diabetes Day, celebrated annually on November 14th, is a global event dedicated to promoting better diabetes management and raising awareness about diabetes. It serves as a forum for educating the public about this long-term medical condition, including its risk factors, management, and prevention.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) founded this day in 1991. It is important to advocate for improved policies, lessen stigma, and increase access to high-quality care for people with diabetes. It also encourages communities and individuals to take proactive steps in preventing diabetes and its complications through regular check-ups and healthy lifestyle choices. As we celebrate World Diabetes Day in 2023, Dr. Virendra Singh is a light of hope and inspiration in the field of diabetes research and care. We honor Dr. Virendra Singh on this World Diabetes Day as a genuine fighter against diabetes and a ray of hope for everyone affected by this worldwide health issue.
Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas either produces insufficient or no insulin at all. We use this day to raise awareness and educate people about it as it can also result in major health concerns. Since its adoption by the United Nations in 2006, World Diabetes Day has been observed on a global scale. The date of November 14th was selected to honor Sir Frederick Banting, who along with Charles Best co-discovered insulin in 1922.
The Theme of World Diabetes Day 2023
Every year, World Diabetes Day centers around a distinct theme that draws attention to various facets of diabetes care and prevention. “Access to Diabetes Care” is the theme for World Diabetes Day 2023.
Significance of World Diabetes Day 2023
The global fight against diabetes, a chronic and pervasive illness that affects millions of people worldwide, is greatly aided by awareness of World Diabetes Day. Here are some crucial points emphasizing its importance.
- Awareness and Education: World Diabetes Day serves as a powerful platform to raise awareness about diabetes. Its various symptoms, types, risk factors, and complications. It educates communities and individuals about the importance of effective management and early diagnosis.
- Global Advocacy: This day offers an opportunity for organizations, individuals, governments, and healthcare professionals to increase funding for diabetes research, improve access to healthcare services for those living with diabetes, and advocate for better policies.
- Reducing Stigma: World Diabetes Day contributes to reducing the discrimination and stigma often associated with diabetes. By fostering empathy and understanding, it encourages a more inclusive and supportive environment for individuals with diabetes.
- Promoting Prevention: The purpose of the day is to highlight how important it is to adopt new lifestyle habits and take preventative steps to lower your risk of diabetes. It motivates people to take up healthy routines and make well-informed decisions regarding their nutrition and level of exercise.
- Supporting Those Affected: The reminder of the necessity for continuous assistance for people with diabetes is provided by World Diabetes Day. It emphasizes the value of routine examinations, following prescribed courses of action, and having access to diabetes education and self-management tools.
- Global Impact: It unites many communities and cultures in a common goal to combat the diabetes pandemic, and it is observed globally. This demonstration of cooperation across nations serves to further emphasize the idea that diabetes is a global health issue requiring coordinated action.
- Recognition by the United Nations: In 2006, the UN passed Resolution 61/225 to observe World Diabetes Day, emphasizing the significance of the disease on a global scale.
- Empowering Individuals: By equipping people with knowledge, skills, and resources to better manage their conditions and make well-informed decisions about their well-being, the day encourages people to take charge of their health.
- Healthcare Improvement: World Diabetes Day highlights the need for accessible and affordable healthcare for all people, regardless of their financial situation, and promotes improvements to healthcare services and infrastructure.
History of World Diabetes Day Observation
The World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation founded World Diabetes Day in 1991. It was thought necessary to celebrate a day devoted only to diabetes in response to growing worries about the disease’s increasing threat to health. In 2006, the resolution 61/225 was passed, making it an official United Nations Day. In addition to acknowledging “the urgent need to pursue multilateral efforts to promote and improve human health and provide access to treatment and health-care education,” the resolution designated November 14 as World Diabetes Day. Member states are also encouraged to create national diabetes treatment, prevention, and care plans under the resolution.
Around 1850, medical professionals thought they understood enough to separate the two into distinct categories based on the differences between type 1 and type 2. Since then, the percentage of people with type 2 diabetes has skyrocketed to 90%, affecting an estimated $425 million people globally. The WHO and IDF intended to establish World Diabetes Day in order to raise awareness of this worrying development.
Keeping an eye on blood sugar levels requires a lot of time and money; the economic cost of diabetes worldwide is estimated to be $727 billion (USD), with about $245 billion of that amount spent in the United States alone. We have all the more reason to raise awareness of the condition and commemorate the man whose birth contributed to the development of insulin, the modern world’s most potent treatment against it, given its high cost and ease of prevention.
World Diabetes Day Timeline
- 1674 (just a sip): Diagnosing diabetic patients involved testing their urine.
- November 14, 1891 (Frederick Banting is born): Banting, one of the two scientists who spearheaded the investigation into the discovery of insulin, was born in Ontario.
- 1922 (Insulin is discovered): Bnating administers the first insulin injection after learning how to extract the hormone from animals with the help of Charles Best, his assistant. After several attempts, they succeeded without experiencing any negative consequences.
- November 14, 1991 (World Diabetes Day founded): The IDF and WHO announce World Diabetes Day on Bnating’s 100th birthday in an effort to raise awareness of the disease worldwide.
How To Observe World Diabetes Day
1. Wear the blue circle: Global awareness of diabetes is promoted with the blue circle logo. Wear a t-shirt, necklace, or bracelet bearing the World Diabetes Day logo, or make one yourself, to raise awareness of the disease and its negative effects.
2. Organize a diabetes fair: Collaborate with health authorities to organize a diabetes fair in your community or place of employment. Offer disseminate information and brochures, diabetes screenings, and offer information on what people can do to prevent type 2 diabetes and stay healthy.
3. Get Tested: Symptoms of diabetes can include but aren’t limited to thirst, excessive excretion of urine, weight loss, vision changes and fatigue, and constant hunger. In addition, obesity greatly or being overweight increases the chances of having type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that one in every two adults has undiagnosed diabetes. On World Diabetes Day, remind yourself to get checked if you exhibit any symptoms or risk factors.
FAQs
When will the next World Diabetes Day celebrated?
Monday, November 14, 2023.
Who started the celebration of World Diabetes Day?
International Diabetes Federation.
What will be the theme of World Diabetes Day in 2023?
World Diabetes Day 2023’s theme is “Access to Diabetes Care.”
What is the slogan for World Diabetes Day 2023?
The campaign’s 2023 motto, “Know your risk, Know your response,” focuses on postponing or preventing type 2 diabetes and the consequences associated with the disease.
What color is World Diabetes Day?
The blue circle serves as both the World Diabetes Day sign and a universal symbol for diabetes awareness. You may support the worldwide diabetes awareness symbol in a number of ways: For diabetes, wear blue.
