World Diabetes Day (WDD) will be observed around the world next week Wednesday, 14 November.
The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) in the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, is working in collaboration with the Diabetes Foundation to commemorate the day with a number of activities spread out over a four week period.
One of the activities planned is a presentation on the results of a pilot project about diabetic foot care for November 15 for health care providers and professionals.
A walk-a-thon under the banner, ‘Walk for Health,’ is planned for November 17. On November 25 there will be a training session for health care providers on how to take care of a diabetic foot.
A workshop is planned for beauty salons and spas in particular for their owners and employees about identifying diabetic feet on November 26.
Additional information about the aforementioned will be released within short.
WDD is used to create awareness of diabetes. It’s escalating around the world and the global community needs to be informed including the community of Sint Maarten how to prevent the illness in most cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 346 million people worldwide have diabetes. This number is likely to more than double by 2030 without intervention. Almost 80 per cent of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
The Minister of Public Health’s ‘Get Checked’ campaign is also in line with creating awareness about diabetes and what can be done to prevent it in certain cases.