Diabetes Dateline
Fall 2007

UN Celebrates World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day, recognized on November 14, will also be celebrated as a United Nations (UN) Day for the first time this year, thanks to a resolution passed late last year by the UN General Assembly.

The landmark resolution acknowledged the global threat of the diabetes epidemic and stipulated that World Diabetes Day be celebrated as a United Nations Day beginning in 2007. The resolution calls on all nations to work toward the prevention, treatment, and care of diabetes.

World Diabetes Day was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Diabetes Federation in 1991 to coordinate diabetes advocacy worldwide. The WHO estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the number is likely to more than double by 2030. For more information about World Diabetes Day, visit www.worlddiabetesday.org.

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NIH Publication No. 08–4562
October 2007