Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Halloween has officially passed us by and the holiday season is right around the corner! However, before we can look forward to turkey and football, before we can dream of the memories that this season brings (as snow sits outside while I write this), I want to take a moment to tell you about World Diabetes Day.

World Diabetes Day is described as, according to worlddiabetesday.org, the “world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign” and reaches over 1 billion people in around 160 countries. Created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) along with the World Health Organization, World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006.

Each year, the IDF sets a theme for the World Diabetes Day campaign that has the opportunity to run for over one year if chosen to do so. The 2018-2019 campaign is focusing on Family and Diabetes, the details of which you can find at the link here. Along with an informational video discussing how diabetes can affect those around the person diagnosed, the page also includes statistics and facts about topics including access to diabetes education programs.

Last year, the theme centered around Women and Diabetes, which you can also view here.

When are we celebrating World Diabetes Day though, you may ask? Well, it’s today, November 14^th! Recognized on this day as it is the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who helped in the discovery of insulin in 1922 along with Charles Best, whose birthday is February 27^th in case you were curious (didn’t want to leave you out Charles).

So, the holidays are here, the first snow has officially fallen, but in this season of giving and receiving, try to remember to give thanks to Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best for making dealing with Type 1 Diabetes just a little bit easier.

By: Paul Willems