Raising Awareness About Diabetes

14 Nov 2011

The Danish Ambassador’s residence turned blue on 14th of November for the World's Diabetes Day.

14th November is observed as World Diabetes Day on the birth anniversary of Frederick Banting - the person credited for discovery of insulin along with Charles Best. It engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat that diabetes now poses. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2007 with the passage of United Nation Resolution 61/225. The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public spotlight.

This year, the theme of the World Diabetes Day is “Act on Diabetes. Now.” With more than 62 million people with diabetes in India and estimated to grow to 80 million by 2030, we urgently need to draw the attention of public to the causes, symptoms, prevention and management of diabetes.

The World Diabetes Day logo is the blue circle - the global symbol for diabetes which was developed as part of the Unite for Diabetes awareness campaign. The logo was adopted in 2007 to mark the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution. The significance of the blue circle symbol is overwhelmingly positive. Across cultures, the circle symbolizes life and health. The colour blue reflects the sky that unites all nations and is the colour of the United Nations flag. The blue circle signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes pandemic.

Lighting up of iconic landmarks and buildings in blue to mark World Diabetes Day is one of the key activities on World Diabetes Day. According to the International Diabetes Federation, over 900 monuments and buildings in 84 countries were lit in blue on November 14 last year to create awareness about the ailment. This year globally, several iconic monuments will be lit in blue, including the Inverness Castle in the UK, Fountain Teatro Valli and Reggio Emilia in Italy, Bomb Monument in Hiroshima and Union Square in San Francisco.

Novo Nordisk has a long history of celebrating World Diabetes Day. Since 1991, this day brings together hundreds of thousands of people in over 160 countries, including Novo Nordisk employees, key opinion leaders, healthcare professionals, passionate media personnel, people concerned about diabetes care and people affected with diabetes. In 2010, Novo Nordisk India had conducted more than 360 activities reaching out to more than 117000 people in order to create awareness about this disorder. These include walkathons, forming blue circles and lighting up of key monuments in blue light.

Novo Nordisk Education Foundation is a non-profit organization created in 1998 with the purpose of increasing diabetes awareness. NNEF aims to provide comprehensive education in diabetes and other healthcare issues by bridging the knowledge gap. NNEF is also changing diabetes at the grassroots by working with state governments to implement the Changing Diabetes Barometer project. This project which is currently being run in Bihar and Goa aims to create awareness about diabetes detection, treatment and management.