A very interesting article was posted recently by Ann Keeling, CEO of International Diabetes Federation. In her opinion piece, she talks about the second World Health Organization (WHO) consultation on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and expresses her belief that the WHO is not doing enough to address the needs of diabetics.
“Twelve months ago, in the fervor of Summit preparations, we urged governments to adopt a set of targets for NCD prevention and control that would be the backbone of the Political Declaration. Our reasoning was simple – if you don’t have a clear vision of where you want to go, you won’t know when you get there. Political commitments must be backed by measurable targets and delivery dates – or they are just words,” Keeling writes.
“The latest WHO discussion paper on the targets has slashed the number of targets by half, discarded many important prevention targets, and completely ignored the rights of people living with diabetes and NCDs to essential medicines and technologies. And these proposals, it seems, are based on the views of just 21 UN Member States!,” the IDF CEO continues.
She reinstates that targets need to be measured and delivery dates need to be set in order to be successful in creating a better life for diabetics. Similarly, JDCA’s definition of a Practical Cure insists that we very much need a clear definition and a set timeline for achieving a cure.
To be clear, Keeling clarifies in her piece that she is talking about access to treatments and prevention techniques. However, why should cure initiatives be viewed any differently? The JDCA believes that most donors donate for a cure, and want to see money, resources, and efforts used toward the purpose of finding a type 1 diabetes cure.
The point of setting deadlines and clarifying the research vision remains very valid. Without these two things, we can not expect to see the change that we long for. Hopefully, the WHO and the major non profit diabetes charities will listen to this demand and make the appropriate changes in the research system.
– Stoyan
