World Diabetes Day is Nov. 14, and became officially recognized by the United Nations in 2007 with the passing of a resolution. Diabetes is the only non-communicable disease to be recognized in this manner.
The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 61/225 on Dec. 20, 2006.
“This landmark Resolution recognizes diabetes as a chronic, debilitating and costly disease associated with major complications that pose severe risks for families, countries and the entire world,” the resolution states. “It designates 14 November, the current World Diabetes Day, as a United Nations Day to be observed every year beginning in 2007.”
The goal of designating a day of awareness for this chronic disease is to inform the public about the signs and symptoms of diabetes, as well as long range treatment plans and a search for a cure.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is one of the organizations leading the charge to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). This year, the JDRF launched T1Day on Nov. 1 to help alert the public about this particular type of the disease.
“T1Day will be a day dedicated to all things Type 1 Diabetes,” said Kathleen DiIorio, walk coordinator with the JDRF in Pensacola. “(It is) a chance to commemorate the lives, accomplishments, and triumphs of people living with type 1 diabetes, raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, and raise funds for research.”
For more on this story, see the Nov. 10 issue of the Navarre Press.
