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VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 • NOVEMBER 2011
DIABETES NEWS
SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
Celebrating World Diabetes Day
‘Act on Diabetes Now’
2011 marks the third year of the five-year
focus on ‘diabetes education and preven-
tion’, the theme selected for World Diabetes
Day from 2009 to 2013. The campaign calls
on all those responsible for diabetes care to
‘act on diabetes now”
With the first-ever UN high-level meet-
ing on non-communicable diseases held
in September, World Diabetes Day will pro-
vide the platform to cement the decisions
and outcomes of global decision makers.
At the same time, World Diabetes Day will
provide impetus and inspiration for the
diabetes community when they gather for
the World Diabetes Congress in Dubai in
December.
With 2011 being a milestone year for the
over 300 million people living with diabetes,
five key messages have been developed to
inform the outputs and deliverables of this
2011 campaign:
• Diabetes kills: one person every eight sec-
onds, four million people a year.
• Diabetes doesn’t discriminate: all ages,
rich and poor, all countries are affected.
• Diabetes can no longer be ignored: four
million lives are lost a year, one million
amputations a year, millions are lost in
income and productivity.
• Life-saving care, a right not a privilege:
education, medicines and technologies
are needed, particularly in the developing
world.
• Choose health: the general public needs
to demand healthy food and environ-
ments, and to keep active and eat well.
You can make a difference.
While the campaigns last the whole year,
14 November is the official day, celebrating
Frederick Banting’s birthday. He, along with
Charles Best first conceived the idea which
led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.
What is the world doing for World
Diabetes Day in 2011?
Here are just a few of the main events com-
memorating World Diabetes Day.
The Big Blue Test – you can join in!
The Big Blue Test is a diabetes awareness
programme celebrated in countries such
as the USA, UK and Spain. The Big Blue
Test was started by the non-profit Diabetes
Hands Foundation, and takes place every
November, leading up to World Diabetes
Day, on 14 November this year.
The campaign reinforces the importance
of exercise in managing diabetes. People
with diabetes are encouraged to do the
Big Blue Test on any day between 1 and 14
November at midnight Pacific Time, by test-
ing their blood sugar, getting active, testing
again, and sharing the results online at big-
bluetest.org. Remember: just 14 minutes of
exercise decreases participants’ blood sugar
levels between 15 and 20%.
In 2010, more than 2 000 people did the
Big Blue Test. Over 120 000 people watched
the Big Blue Test video. Roche Diabetes Care,
makers of Accu-Chek
®
diabetes products and
services, funded the production of the video
and incentived participation by donating 75
cents for each of the first 100 000 views,
resulting in a total donation of $75 000.
The donation provided insulin and supplies
to more than 2 000 people with diabetes in
developing countries.
In 2011, in proportion to the number of
people that do the Big Blue Test, another
donation from Roche Diabetes Care will
benefit more than 8 000 needy people
with diabetes. Five non-profit organisations,
focused on helping underserved areas with
a high incidence of diabetes in the USA, will
each receive $10 000, while $25 000 will
go to support the work of the International
Diabetes Federation’s (IDF’s) Life for a Child
Programme in Latin America.
World Diabetes Day Blue Monument
Challenge
In 2010 the IDF encouraged a Monument
Challenge on 14 November. More than
1 000 iconic sites and buildings around the
world were lit up in blue, honouring World
Diabetes Day. They encouraged a further
challenge for 2011 with already 900 monu-
ments scheduled to go blue.
Buildings joining this challenge include:
the AAMI Park in Melbourne, the Eye in
London, Yula River bridge in China, Cali-
fornia State Capital building, USA, and
Burj-al-Arab in Dubai. South Africa’s very
own Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria
has joined the cause by also going blue.
Visit Flicker under World Diabetes Day Blue
Monument Challenge to view the magnifi-
cent sites.
What did South African Diabetes
leaders do?
Novo Nordisk arranged a Changing Diabe-
tes concert, which was held on 5 November.
This concert featured South African artists
such as Tshepo Mosese, Danny K, Teargas
and Kabelo. Their Changing Diabetes bus
was also on site for free diabetes screening,
creating awareness of the disease.
A really effective diabetes screening initiative, Novo Nordisk’s bus is popular whereever it goes, often into rural areas in South
Africa.
