World diabetes day comes at "unprecedented int'l action to confront" disease

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Monday said that the World Diabetes Day comes at a time of "unprecedented international action to confront this and other non- communicable diseases." In a message to mark the annual World Diabetes Day, which falls on Nov. 14, the secretary-general said that the day is an " opportunity to raise awareness and to show people living with diabetes that the international community stands with them in their struggle." "This is especially important for the 277 million people with diabetes who live in developing countries," Ban said. "Too often, the disease hits the poorest especially hard, leading to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, limb amputations, kidney failure and premature death." In September, the United Nations General Assembly held its first-ever high-level meeting on the prevention and control of non- communicable diseases, producing a strong political declaration with time-bound commitments. "Among these was a pledge to make it possible for more people to get quality medicines for diagnosing and treating diabetes by the year 2013," Ban said. The political declaration also called on the private sector to do its part, building on Millennium Development Goal 8, which calls for partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries, Ban added. "We have seen meaningful progress in this direction," Ban said. "One company has introduced a differential pricing scheme to supply generic insulin to the least developed countries, benefiting three dozen states to date. But this facility cannot respond alone." He called for additional resources to address inefficient distribution systems, and the lack of sufficient public funding for medicines. "I call on governments and pharmaceutical companies to give real meaning to our commemorations by developing joint strategies to make essential medicines more available and affordable in developing countries, especially for the poorest people who need them," Ban said. "Let us all use World Diabetes Day to work so that people with diabetes everywhere get the care and treatment they deserve." Started by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organization (WHO), the Day is celebrated on Nov. 14 annually to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting, who, along with Charles Best, was instrumental in the discovery of insulin in 1922, a life-saving treatment for diabetes patients. According to the WHO, more than 346 million people have diabetes worldwide.