World Diabetes Day is celebrated every year on the 14th November, with a theme that runs over multiple years – from 2021-2023 the theme is ‘Access to Diabetes Care’. Diabetes education is lacking, with millions of people around the world unable to access care or information on diabetes when it is needed.
It was just over 100 years ago that insulin was discovered – and in 1923 Frederick Banting and John Macleod won a Nobel Prize for discovering the treatment which has now gone on to save millions of lives around the world. Since insulin was discovered, scientists are continuing to make breakthroughs – and with more research they are getting closer to being able to eliminate diabetes altogether.
However, there are still millions of people around the world that remain undiagnosed – almost 1 in 2 adults (44%) with diabetes remain undiagnosed (240 million). The majority have type 2 diabetes.
It’s best to know the symptoms of diabetes and get help when you believe you may have diabetes, see some of the most common signs and symptoms in the below video.
It is often said that understanding diabetes is the first step towards managing the condition, and one of the biggest steps towards preventing it. The IDF school of diabetes has developed a new online education platform to help people with diabetes containing some mini interactive courses, and those who help care for them, with information on the condition and how to help treat it, which can be found below:
If you would like to join in raising awareness on the 14th November, or read about what others are doing this World Diabetes Day, checkout the official hashtag #WorldDiabetesDay.