Every Day Should Be World Diabetes Day

November 14th was World Diabetes Day. The theme of the campaign this year was to highlight children and adolescents living with diabetes. There were grand celebrations in major cities around the globe including New York, Sidney and Tokyo. 246 monuments worldwide, such as the Coit Tower in San Francisco, were lit up to commemorate this day of diabetes epidemic recognition. The United Nations recognized World Diabetes Day for the first time since the International Diabetes Federation established it in 1991. Dignitaries, politicians, and diabetes professionals made speeches to highlight the growing and staggering diabetes epidemic--one of the most important health concerns facing millions of people around the globe. Many diabetes organizations brought attention to this day with email blasts, form letters, media alerts and requests for donations. Their representatives showed up at events to bring attention to the cause. What a day it was! Yep...24 hours of incredible festivities.

There are over 245 million people living with diabetes worldwide and it is estimated that by the year 2027 there will be over 380 million. It is estimated that 200 children a day are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and over 4000 children and adults are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each day in the United States. Type 2 diabetes, formerly called "adult onset diabetes" is growing at alarming rates in children and adolescents. In the U.S., it is estimated that type 2 diabetes represents between 8% and 45% of new-onset diabetes cases in children, depending on geographic location, and an increasing trend is seen around the world. For example, over a 20-year period, type 2 diabetes has doubled in children in Japan, so that it is now more common than type 1. In addition, the prevalence in children of native and aboriginal decent in North America and Australia is growing at an alarming rate never before observed.

In addition to the human suffering, the effects of which cannot be estimated, we will spend hundreds of billions of dollars caring for these afflicted people. And don't forget the men, women and children of developing countries suffering every day from the acute and chronic complications of diabetes. These unfortunate individuals suffer from malnutrition, infections, blindness, amputations, and kidney failure--and cannot even get the basics of care, such as oral medications or insulin. Some advances, such as newer insulins, insulin pumps and pens, Byetta, home and continuous glucose monitoring are totally out of reach. The difficult lives of these folks are the same every day throughout the year, including November 14th (World Diabetes Day).

The main issue for me is this: What happens on November 15th and thereafter until the next volley of extravaganzas that will occur on World Diabetes Day in 2008? Every health care organization focusing on diabetes, including TCOYD, needs to work together everyday of the year with the common goal of wiping out the devastating effects of diabetes in those afflicted with this increasingly common and deadly chronic condition. We have so many tools to help successfully control type 1 and type 2 diabetes, yet access to these new medications and devices, in addition to knowledgeable caregivers, is severely limited for the vast majority of people living with diabetes on this planet. Increased public and government awareness, ongoing meaningful patient and professional education, access to the basic oral pills, insulin and glucose testing devices, advocacy and emotional support are all part of a long list of what is needed to make a dent in the amount of human suffering caused by diabetes worldwide. World Diabetes Day is important to re-ignite awareness of diabetes to the public as well as to governmental agencies and the private health care sector. However, it is also important that we do not ever lose sight of the fact that this disease is with every person affected by it every minute of every day, year after year. All of us at TCOYD feel that every day should be World Diabetes Day!