@RobertaHeale  Associate Editor EBN

Every year on April 7, the birthday of the World Health Organization, the organization highlights a global public health concern. In 2016, the theme is diabetes. The organization explains why this in an important theme on their website:http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2016/how-to-get-involved/en/

I can’t imagine meeting anyone in health care who hasn’t had to work with patients with diabetes. It’s difficult to ignore the colossal impact that this condition has on the lives of those affected. Diabetes isn’t just a health issue. It has enormous economic and social consequences for those who develop it, particularly for people and countries with low or middle incomes.

The WHO hopes to increase awareness of the rise in diabetes as well as the ‘staggering burden’ and consequences. Coinciding with the release of the first WHO Global Report on diabetes, the goal is to incite specific, effective and affordable actions to tackle diabetes. Check out the WHO core social media and marketing materials, as well as the countdown to World Health Day here: http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2016/posters/en/

Let’s all work together to squelch the rise of diabetes and to make the lives of those with the disease better.