World Diabetes Day (WDD) is celebrated yearly as the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign. The activity aims to address the ever-increasing health risks caused by diabetes through promoting advocacy efforts and boosting the importance of having coordinated and concerted efforts to combat diabetes as a life-threatening health concern worldwide. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) created the event on 1991 and it became an official United Nations Day in 2006 by virtue of the United Nation Resolution 61/225. This event is held every 14th of November to give honor to the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin together with Charles Best in 1922.

Since 2007, blue circle logo has been used as the global symbol for diabetes awareness. This year’s theme, “Diabetes: Nurses Make the Difference” gives importance and raises awareness on the roles of nurses in providing care, support and service delivery to patients suffering from diabetes and related complications.

WHO defines diabetes as a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by the raised blood glucose, which leads to severe damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves when not treated overtime. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. On the other hand, type 2 diabetes happens when the body becomes insulin-resistant or is unable to produce enough insulin. It is estimated that 422 million individuals worldwide have diabetes, causing around 1.6 million deaths each year. In the Philippines, 6.3% or around 4 million adults are diabetic.

Nurses are very valuable members of the society. They play very important roles in supporting people with varying health concerns, which includes the diabetic individuals and those who are at risk of developing diabetes. Their roles include early diagnosis, provision of self-management training and psychological support, and educating the diabetic or at risk individual of the risk factors of type 2 diabetes.

According to the WHO, 59% of health professionals are nurses. Despite having this huge chunk, an estimated 5.9 million global shortage of nurses was recorded in 2018. In the Philippines, 50-60% of nursing graduates turn into professional nurses qualified to practice their profession in the country. According to the International Council of Nurses, there are around 15,000 to 20,000 outflow of nurses from the Philippines per annum in recent years. There is also a significant drop on the annual number of nurses who have passed the national licensure exam from about 45,000 to less than 10,000 in 2012 and 2018, respectively. With aforementioned data, it is more likely for the Philippines to feel the scarcity of nurses with lesser allocation for diabetic care, especially at this time of COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s WDD seeks support from both government and private sector to recognize the need to invest in education and training of nurses to equip them with the right knowledge and skills to provide proper care and support for the diabetic and at-risk individuals. Addressing the additional challenge of nurse shortage in the Philippines will also go a long way in securing sufficient work force to care for the diabetic people.

As we celebrate the WDD, let us give due recognition to all the hard-working nurses who are doing their best in delivering utmost health services to diabetic patients despite their exhausting roles as COVID-19 responders. (PNC Stephanie C. Barrio).

References:

Buchan, J., Catton, H (2020). COVID-19 and the International Supply of Nurses. International Council of Nurses. https://www.icn.ch/system/files/documents/2020-07/COVID19_internationalsupplyofnurses_Report_FINAL.pdf

International Diabetes Federation (n.d.). About World Diabetes Day. https://worlddiabetesday.org/about/

International Diabetes Federation (n.d.). Nurses and Diabetes. https://worlddiabetesday.org/about/nurses/

International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific (2020 May 14). The Philippines. https://idf.org/our-network/regions-members/western-pacific/members/116-the-philippines.html

Tanggol, F. (2020 April 7). Urgent need for investment in nursing. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/philippines/news/detail/07-04-2020-urgent-need-for-investment-in-nursing

World Health Organization (n.d.). Diabetes. https://www.who.int/health-topics/diabetes