World Diabetes Day 14 November
Diabetes is a huge and growing problem
Over 300 million people worldwide have diabetes now. If nothing is done, this will rise to 500 million within a generation | Diabetes is at crisis levels |
All nations – rich and poor – are suffering the impact of the diabetes epidemic | No country is immune from the diabetes epidemic |
Three out of four people with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries | Diabetes hits the poorest hardest |
| |
Diabetes Kills and Disables
Each year four million deaths are caused by diabetes | Every eight seconds someone dies from diabetes |
Diabetes hits people in low- and middle-income countries 10 or 20 years earlier than it does in high-income countries | Diabetes is increasingly hitting people of working age |
Diabetes is among the top 10 causes of disability, resulting in devastating complications such as blindness and lower limb amputations | Diabetes is a deadly disease with life threatening complications |
Diabetes Costs to Society are High and Escalating
Diabetes causes a staggering USD378 billion in global healthcare spending. This is predicted to increase to USD490 billion by 2030. | Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating and costly disease |
Diabetes results in high healthcare costs, loss of labour productivity and reduced economic growth | Diabetes has high costs for countries, employers and individuals |
Preventable deaths from diabetes, heart disease and stroke is causing China, Russia and India to lose USD 558 billion, USD303 billion and USD237 billion respectively in foregone national income | Investing in diabetes pays |
Diabetes is a Neglected Development Issue
The cost of diabetes and its complications can throw a poor family into destitution | Diabetes traps households into a vicious cycle of poverty |
Diabetes is a major cause of poverty, a barrier to economic development and is undermining the Millennium Development Goals | Diabetes is undermining global development |
Diabetes triggers and exacerbates other health issues, including infectious diseases and maternal mortality | Investment in diabetes brings other health and development gains |
Only 3% of the USD22 billion health expenditure by international aid agencies in LMCs is allocated to diabetes and related NCDs | Only a fraction of aid money for low- and middle-income countries is devoted to diabetes and NCDs |
People are dying from diabetes not because we can’t treat them but because the world has not yet made the political commitment to save them | We can defeat diabetes – but we need the political will to do it |
We have Cost-Effective Solutions to Reverse the Global Diabetes Epidemic
The majority of type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed through addressing the modifiable risk factors – unhealthy diets, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity | We must prevent the development of type 2 diabetes wherever we can |
The causes of diabetes and NCDs are complex and multi-faceted. We need action that crosses health ministries and involves finance, transport and environment departments | Diabetes is not only a health issue – it affects everyone and requires a collective response |
For people with diabetes, universal access to essential medicines, technologies and self-care education will cut diabetes-related complications and be cost-effective | Provide the essential medicines to save lives and money |
Millions of people with diabetes around the world face stigma and discrimination, largely due to ignorance and misconceptions surrounding the disease | Stop discrimination against people with diabetes |
Access to appropriate and affordable care is a right for all people with diabetes, not a privilege | It is an outrage to deprive people with diabetes of lifesaving treatment and care |
We have cost-effective solutions that can save lives and make economic sense | We know what to do – we have the evidence, we have the cost-effective solutions, we have the tools and we have the skills |
We have the Global Platform to Turn the Global Diabetes Epidemic Around
This is our biggest and best opportunity to broker the international commitments necessary to turn the diabetes and NCD tide | The UN Summit is a once-in-a-generation opportunity |
We need the world’s most senior political leaders in New York to demonstrate the highest commitment to the world’s number one killers | The top killer diseases demand global political attention |
We have cost effective solutions, we have the know-how to combat this global epidemic. There is no excuse for inaction | Inaction is not an option |
IDF is working to make this Summit as successful as the 2001 Summit was in turning the tide for HIV/AIDS | Make 2011 a turning point for diabetes |
The UN Summit must catalyse real change for the millions of people with diabetes | The Summit must be a global game changer |
The NCD Epidemic is a Global Health and Development Emergency
Collectively NCDs are the leading cause of death globally. They take 35 million lives every year - 60% of all deaths worldwide | NCDs are the world’s number one killer, accounting for two out of three deaths |
Four-fifths of NCD deaths now occur in low- and middle-income countries | NCDs are a development issue |
14 million people each year die prematurely from NCDs | NCDs are a silent killer |
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has identified NCDs as a global risk for businesses and communities | NCDs are a costly global risk with far-reaching consequences |
If NCDs continue to be invisible to policymakers, we will find ourselves in a world where healthy people are in the minority, where children die before their parents, and economic progress is reversed | Integrate NCDs into the current UN Millennium Development Goals and any subsequent similar global commitments |
Reducing deaths from NCDs by 2 per cent a year over the next ten years will prevent 36 million deaths | Global action will save 36 million lives |