November 14, 2019

World Diabetes Day 2019—Dr. Eva Feldman Shares Its Importance

Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. In the United States, over 30 million people have diabetes, while another 85 million have prediabetes. These numbers are projected to increase at the rate of 5% per year. At this pace, more than one in three Americans born after 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

World Diabetes Day (WDD) was created in 1991 by IDF 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.