World Diabetes Day (WDD) was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes.
World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006 with the passage of United Nation Resolution 61/225. It is marked every year on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922.
The blue circle is the global symbol for diabetes awareness. It signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes epidemic.
Facts about the global impact of diabetes:
- 463 million adults (1-in-11) were living with diabetes in 2019
- The number of people living with diabetes is expected to rise to 578 million by 2030
- 1-in-2 adults with diabetes remain undiagnosed (232 million). The majority have type 2 diabetes
- More than three quarters of people with diabetes live in low and middle-income countries
- Two thirds of people with diabetes live in urban areas and three-quarters are of working age
- A fifth of people with diabetes (136 million) are above 65 years old
- Depending on global region, up to 50% of COVID-19 diagnoses were in people living with diabetes
- Diabetes caused 4.2 million deaths in 2019
- Diabetes was responsible for at least $760 billion in health expenditure in 2019 – 10% of the global total spent on healthcare
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Constance Brown-Riggs
Registered Dietitian
An award-winning registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator, and former spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the author of the Diabetes Guide to Enjoying Foods of the World; The African American Guide to Living Well With Diabetes.
