Campaigns - 13 July 2016

World Diabetes Day is celebrated every year on 14 November. It is the leading global diabetes awareness and advocacy campaign, officially recognised by the United Nations and led by the International Diabetes Federation. The theme for 2016 World Diabetes Day is ‘Eyes on diabetes’ as diabetes can lead to health complications, including blindness.

According to the International Diabetes Federation at current growth rates, there will be about 642 million people living with diabetes by 2040.

In Australia, around 1.7 million people are living with diabetes and a further 280 develop diabetes every day. In Victoria 74 people develop diabetes every day.

Everyone with diabetes is at risk of losing vision. Management of blood glucose levels, blood pressure and blood lipids, as well as timely treatment, can reduce the incidence of eye disease and vision loss.

What YOU can do this World Diabetes Day

• Donate $74 to Diabetes Victoria – a dollar for each Victorian that will develop diabetes today. All donations will help us to fight the type 2 diabetes epidemic by providing funds to diabetes research, prevention programs and education services.
• Host a healthy morning tea with friends, colleagues or classmates and collect gold coin donations.
• Raise awareness by sharing our World Diabetes Day messages on social media, using #WDD16, #WorldDiabetesDay and #diabetes hashtags. Click here for our social media materials.
• Read more about the campaign in our media release.

Funding vital diabetes research

Every year, Diabetes Victoria is celebrating the Victorian recipients of the Diabetes Australia Research Program (DARP) at a special event in the lead-up to World Diabetes Day. For 2017, Diabetes Victoria has contributed $1.3 million to the $3.6 million DARP funding pool, directly supporting 17 Victorian researchers looking into better treatment and management options for all types of diabetes, as well as reducing the risk of well-documented serious health complications. Read more in our media release.

Blue Monument Challenge

The lighting up of the northern façade Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building, in blue will take place at 8pm on 14 November as part of the International Diabetes Federation monument challenge.

The 'Blue Monument Challenge' was launched in 2007 to mark the first United Nations observed World Diabetes Day. Since then thousands of iconic sites and buildings in over 80 countries have gone blue to raise diabetes awareness on World Diabetes Day.