More PDGN News: Are You Busy Enough?
Benjamin Franklin once said: “if you want something done, ask a busy person.” Could you take on a role within the global network to help us to reach out and grow our membership and effectiveness in meeting the challenge of diabetes across the world? You will already be an advocate for the prevention, early diagnosis […]
More PDGN News: Spotlight on Spotlight AQ
CAPTION: Spotlight AQ founder, Professor Katherine Barnard-Kelly PhD PDGN and Spotlight AQ have teamed up for an event at this year’s Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES) Conference, 4th August, in Houston. Spotlight AQ’s Professor Katherine Barnard-Kelly PhD and PDGN Secretary General Adrian Sanders will be running a session on reducing health inequalities […]
PDGN in Liverpool
PDGN Secretary General, Adrian Sanders, attended the Diabetes UK Professional Conference in Liverpool where new research was presented that has pinpointed five unique combinations of genes that either help protect people living with obesity and overweight from developing type 2 diabetes, or increase their risk. There were sessions on the issues facing the care of […]
PDGN News: Welcome Thapi
PDGN welcomes Thapi Semenya as our Digital Lead. Thapi is from and based in South Africa, and has been living with diabetes for 17 years. She is passionate about advocacy. Over the years she had built up an audience on social media platforms that she uses to educate about her multiple chronic conditions namely Diabetes, […]
Diabetes Australia
Holding an event in Parliament to offer elected members and their staff a test for diabetes is not a new idea, but it is still highly effective at getting a message across to politicians. This year’s event in Australia was called: “Take Five to do Five Health Checks” and was held at Parliament House in […]
IDF and the WHO
Breaking Barriers for Better Access to Diabetes Care Under the auspices of the World Health Organisation a hybrid event took place in Geneva, during the 76th WHO Assembly and was livestreamed via Zoom. Participants learned about the WHO Global Diabetes Compact potential to unite efforts in preventing diabetes, reducing risks and ensuring equitable and affordable […]
Policy Briefings for Law Makers
This spring, the US-based Diabetes Leadership Council (DLC) delivered policy briefings for federal policymakers in Washington DC, highlighting diabetes community needs through the voice of patients, caregivers and clinicians. Presentations addressed gaps in access and affordability of diabetes treatment and innovation, and the landscape of actionable solutions for the new Congress. In March, DLC […]
Study Suggests CGM Cost Savings
In the study, a long-term health economic analysis was determined using the IQVIA CORE Diabetes Model – which allows the calculation of long-term outcomes, based on the best data currently available – to establish the cost-effectiveness for funding Dexcom rtCGM technology versus testing with finger pricks. The analysis suggests that, compared to finger pricks, use […]
Technology Corner
FDA Approves Bionic Pancreas System. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the Beta Bionics iLet ACE Pump and the iLet Dosing Decision Software for people six years of age and older with type 1 diabetes. These two devices, along with a compatible FDA-cleared integrated continuous glucose monitor (iCGM), will form a new system called […]
Research News
India Study in India finds socioeconomic inequality in awareness, treatment and control of diabetes among adults. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-29978-y Australia JDRF Australia and the Helmsley Trust have announced a combined additional AUS $12 million towards the continuation of the Environmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity (ENDIA) study. https://www.miragenews.com/world-first-childhood-diabetes-study-extended-980714 Denmark A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the […]
Food Labelling Success
The US ‘Center for Science in the Public Interest’ is celebrating the introduction of a bill to increase transparency and promote healthy choices through food labels. CAPTION: The Bill will help people manage dozens of medicall conditions such as those who need to be Gluten-free. The Food Labelling Modernization Act 2023 (FLMA) was introduced by Representatives […]
Uganda Symposium
A month earlier, in February, Uganda’s Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) organised a nutrition symposium in Kampala, focusing on the systems approach for improving nutrition service delivery and outcomes in Uganda. Experiences were shared by nutrition stakeholders with reports on research findings, innovations, and lessons learned from projects. The […]
South Africa Hosts Nutrition Congress
For the first time since the Covid pandemic disruptions, nutrition and dietetic health professionals from Africa and further afield gathered in person for the 2023 Nutrition Congress. Held in West Somerset, Western Cape, the 3-day event was co-hosted by NSSA (Nutrition Society of South Africa) and ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa). At the […]
Study Recommends High Fibre Diets
In a response to the triple-burden of pre-diabetes, diabetes and obesity, diabetologists in India are promoting a high-fibre diet for people with or at risk of diabetes. It is believed that changing nutritional habits have contributed to the rise in obesity and diabetes with a lower intake of fibre and an excess consumption of calories, […]
Parliamentary Friends of Nutrition Group Formed
A Parliamentary Group has been formed in the Australian Parliament to raise awareness of the importance of nutrition for a healthy life, and to highlight the areas of most need for equity, improved access and affordability to high-quality nutrition. The group is Co-Chaired by Senator Helen Polley (Labor) and Bridget Archer MP (Liberal), who have […]
MPS’ Joint Action
A number of UK Members of Parliament from across the political divide have signed a letter warning that health and social care businesses are facing unprecedented pressures as a result of the pandemic, inflation and the effects of leaving the European Union. The signees call on the Government to protect healthcare supply chains, including a […]
Insulin Fears Allayed
Fear that fast-acting insulin ‘Fiasp’ used by approximately 14,000 people with Type 1 diabetes in Australia would be withdrawn have been allayed, at least temporarily. This followed an outcry from patients, politicians and advocacy groups. PDGN highlighted the issue on its social media pages at the time the news broke that the insulins would be […]
Sri Lankan Concerns
Nearly one in four Sri Lankan adults – 23 percent – and one in three adults or 31 percent in the Colombo district had diabetes while another one in three had high blood sugar levels in 2019, according to a large-scale national survey jointly conducted by a number of institutes. Researchers representing several Sri Lankan universities, […]
News in Brief
Real Time CGM Recommended for some type 2 Children In the UK, hundreds of children with type 2 diabetes will be offered the choice of two life changing technologies. Children with type 2 diabetes who currently manage their condition with the ‘burdensome’, ‘tiring’, and ‘stressful’ task of finger prick testing several times a day could […]
Importance of Blood Test Checks in Type 2 Diabetes
The importance of maintaining blood glucose levels within a safe range is vital for people with diabetes. Monitoring devices are crucial in this and evidence from people with type 2 diabetes using a smart blood glucose meter and a mobile app has driven home the importance of such checks. Real-world evidence has shown people with […]
Jamaican Healthy Lifestyle Campaign Launched
With an estimated 236,000 people, or nine per cent of the population with diabetes, a study found that only 106,000 of Jamaicans are aware of their status. These alarming statistics have prompted the Health and Wellness Ministry of Jamaica to announce an initiative to help determine the health status of people through a screening programme. […]
National Plan Delayed by Inflation
Rising out-of-pocket costs for people living with diabetes are hitting hard across the globe. Since 2001, in one country, Diabetes Canada (DC) has tracked the out-of-pocket costs – costs assessed after reimbursement by public insurance programs – of managing type 1 diabetes and added type 2 diabetes in 2003 based on specific composite case studies […]
Sugar Tax Experience
PDGN Vice-President and member of the Moroccan House of Representatives, Dr Mostafa Brahimi, attended the Regional Expert Meeting on Policy Action for Healthy Diets in Dubai, where he shared his country’s experience of soda (SSB) taxes. As a member of the Moroccan Obesity Task Force, he explained how Morocco implemented a sugar tax and the […]
Sugar Tax Battles in Nigeria
The battle rages in Nigeria over sugar taxes as some industry players continue to resist and campaign against them, particularly in developing countries. In Nigeria, the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) organisation recently hosted a media event to highlight the significance of healthy food policies such as the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax. During the […]
News From Around the World
CGM First Step in NZ The New Zealand medicine-funding agency, Pharmac, announced in February it was seeking competitive commercial offers to fund Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) – the “first step” in the process. Many campaigners inside and outside of Parliament are claiming that the process is taking far too long. According to the Ministry of […]
Close the Gap on Aboriginal Health
The Australian annual Close the Gap Day took place in March and among the many organisations involved, Diabetes Western Australia called for greater recognition of the disproportionate impact of diabetes on aboriginal communities in WA. Aboriginal Western Australians are at far greater risk of diabetes and diabetes-related complications than any other community in the State. […]
Chad Screening Programme
The Government of the Republic of Chad, a large landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa, launched a diabetes, blood pressure, obesity and kidney disease screening campaign in April. Four sites were chosen to screen all age groups free of charge. The Chadian Minister of Health, Dr Abdelmadjid Abderahim (pictured), officially launched […]
Appeal to Religious Scholars
“Religious scholars have great respect within Pakistan society and they are listened to more than anyone else.” Masudur Rehman Kian Health experts in Pakistan have called on religious scholars to raise awareness about the harmful effects of unhealthy food. At a conference held by the Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah), the organisations president, retired Maj […]
UK Closer to One in Ten People with Diabetes
Analysis by Diabetes UK has shown the numbers of people living with diabetes in the United Kingdom has topped five million for the first time. The patient advocacy charity is calling on the UK Government to ensure that national and local health care systems put diabetes at the heart of their plans. Diabetes UK want […]
Views of Indigenous Communities Sought
Thanks to the work of Sonia Sidhu MP and her fellow MPs the Federal Government of Canada is now establishing a national framework for diabetes they fought for and is asking Indigenous communities throughout the country to contribute through a survey and public consultations. People can do a survey, participate in a virtual circle, or […]