Today is World Diabetes Day (WDD) 2016. Close to 350 million people in the world have diabetes, a chronic disease that occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or when it cannot effectively use the insulin it does produce to help the body metabolize the sugar that is formed from the food we eat.
Led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by IDF and the WHO response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. It is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign which unites the global diabetes community to produce a powerful voice for diabetes awareness and advocacy. WDD is a year-long campaign to reflect the realities of dealing with a chronic condition.
In 2012, diabetes was the direct cause of some 1.5 million deaths, with more than 80% of them occurring in low- and middle-income countries. WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death by 2030. Properly treated, the impact of diabetes can be minimised. Even people with type 1 diabetes can live long and healthy lives if they keep their blood sugars under tight control.