November 14th is World Diabetes Day. This global day is spent bringing awareness to Diabetes and informing people how to prevent and live with this disease. Diabetes is a chronic disease where the body does not make or use insulin properly, which means there is too much sugar in the blood. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes.
Diabetes is a serious disease worldwide, but it is especially serious in Singapore. As of 2016 400,000 Singaporeans live with Diabetes…that means 1 out of every 9 people in Singapore have diabetes. 1 in 3 Singaporeans have a lifetime risk of getting diabetes, but the Ministry of Health in Singapore is eager to prevent these citizens from developing this disease.
What is Singapore doing to prevent Diabetes?
- the Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Healthier Dining Programme (HDP) are encouraging healthier food/beverage options
- HPB is working with food manufacturers and supermarkets to label healthier food options through the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS)
- National Steps Challenge: half a million Singaporeans have taken part in this challenge where their steps are tracked and made into a competition. The results from this challenge show that 4 out of 5 participants have become significantly more active since taking part in the challenge.
- MOH and HPB launched the Diabetes Risk Assessment (DRA) tool and Screen for Life (SFL) on September 1, 2017 (the DRA tool will assess one’s current risk for diabetes and tell them if they should get a Diabetes screening)
What is happening on World Diabetes Day?
The Diabetic Society of Singapore is a non-profit organization aimed at aiding and informing those with diabetes and those who wish to become better informed. On November 12, 2017, the DSS will be hosting an event in honor of World Diabetes Day.
The National Kidney Foundation, a partner of Conjunct Consulting, is a non-profit organization who gives affordable renal care and educates about Kidney disease. The NKF found that Singapore ranks number one in the world for diabetes-induced kidney failure. 2 out of every 3 cases of kidney failure in Singapore is due to Diabetes. On November 18th, the NKF is hosting NKF Flag Day 2017 where they will be collecting change from spots all over Singapore and the money collected will “help sustain the lives of kidney patients through lifelong dialysis treatment.”
About 16.6% of the world population has diabetes and some of these people do not even know that they have this disease. It is important that you go to your doctor and get checked for diabetes because it can be a preventable disease. Help decrease the number of people with this disease by being informed and living a healthy lifestyle.
