Developing countries

The first practical use of insulin by Banting and Best in 1921 heralded a medical revolution. Overnight, type 1 diabetes went from being a uniformly fatal disease to a manageable disorder. Thousands of people around the world have received awards for surviving 50 years on insulin – some reaching 80 years. Insulin is classified by WHO as an essential drug. Yet, 85 years after its discovery, untold thousands of people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes in developing countries die each year because they can neither readily access nor afford insulin.

DREAM Trust is a non-government organization and registered charity in Nagpur, central India. In this region and indeed throughout the Indian sub-continent and the developing world, covering the medication needs of a child with diabetes requires many families to commit a quarter of their monthly income. The principal objective of DREAM Trust is to respond to these needs by providing insulin, accessories and healthcare free of charge to poor children with type 1 diabetes.

At 7.59 am local time on 26 December 2004, a mighty earthquake rocked the floor of the Indian Ocean just northwest of Sumatra, triggering a series of large and powerful tsunamis that killed nearly a quarter of a million people – 168 000 in Indonesia alone. The tsunami decimated towns and cities from Indonesia, Thailand and the north-western coast of Malaysia to Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, thousands of kilometres away, and as far as Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa.

The third edition of the Diabetes Atlas was launched in December 2006, at the 19th World Diabetes Congress of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in Cape Town, South Africa. The aim of the Atlas, which has been described as the flagship publication of IDF, is to provide the most recent and accurate information on diabetes in 2007 and provide estimates of the likely impact of the condition up to 2025. Its purpose is to disseminate the most up-to-date and salient facts concerning the scope, impact and burden of diabetes globally and on a regional and country-by-country basis.

When IDF brings together the global diabetes community at a World Diabetes Congress, it does so with a number of key objectives, which include raising overall diabetes awareness, sharing innovative ideas and best practices, and helping to build and consolidate networks – in line with the Federation’s mission to promote care, prevention and a cure for diabetes worldwide.

In many countries, young people work effectively as advocates for a range of causes, from inner-city regeneration to anti-bullying and smoking cessation. An IDF initiative aimed to engage Youth Ambassadors in diabetes advocacy worldwide and specifically to participate at as many levels as possible in IDF’s global awareness campaign ’Unite For Diabetes’. In this article, representatives from the group describe the principles and objectives of the IDF Youth Ambassadors programme and make a call for increased involvement of young people in diabetes advocacy.

As the number of people with diabetes continues to rise worldwide, huge increases in the prevalence of the condition are expected in Asia. Hospital and outpatient care for people with diabetes in the central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan, with a population of over 26 million people, is provided at state-funded healthcare centres. However, people with the condition have to pay for their insulin and other essential diabetes supplies out of their family income. Diabetes-

Editorial

President's Editorial

The Philippines, with a population of 76.5 million, is considered a developing country. Health services are provided by the state through health centres, local clinics and hospitals, as well as private-sector health facilities. While WHO recommends that countries should spend at least 5% of their GNP for health, the Philippines health budget is only around 3.4% of the country’s GNP (264 million USD) – compared with the military’s budget of 566 million USD.