November 14 2005 marks the sixteenth annual World Diabetes Day. Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects people of all ages in all areas of the world. Inadequate care can lead to serious health complications such as blindness, kidney failure, neuropathy (degeneration of nerves and nervous system), amputation, heart attacks and death.

This date was designated World Diabetes Day as it was the birthday of Frederick Banting who, in collaboration with Charles Best, discovered insulin in October 1921.

The theme for World Diabetes Day this year is: Preventing amputations

IIF’s statement for World Diabetes Day 2005

The official theme of World Diabetes Day 2005 is the prevention of amputations by promoting better foot care. Somewhere in the world, a leg is lost to diabetes every thirty seconds (International Diabetes Federation). Amputations for people with diabetes are the result of a long chain of events. The first of these is poor management of this condition. In many countries in the developing world this poor management is due to lack of access to insulin, medicines, trained healthcare workers and the appropriate infrastructure.

The main cause of amputations is foot ulcers. These develop as people with diabetes lose feeling in their extremities (neuropathy), due to poor disease management. These ulcers often get infected and if they are not treated properly and lead to amputations in a short period of time. People with diabetes also need to pay special attention to wounds, as they are more prone to infection.

The IIF would like to bring to people’s attention that while foot care is an essential piece of the overall treatment for people with diabetes, ensuring that people can access affordable medicines and care, trained health workers and the appropriate infrastructure is vital to prevent complications of diabetes such as neuropathy.

IIF Press Release for World Diabetes Day 2005 (in pdf format)

Visit the International Diabetes Foundation’s (IDF) website: www.idf.org