Let’s put the WORLD back in World Diabetes Day

Everyone’s getting very excited for World Diabetes Day because it is one of the most important days for people living with diabetes worldwide. It’s a day used to raise awareness about the condition, to fundraise, to promote healthy living, and more. All of these initiatives are definitely important and worthwhile, but this year I very much hope that we can also get back to the true spirit of World Diabetes Day. Along with another small charity called The Pendsey Trust, T1International has created a World Diabetes Day campaign which aims to raise awareness about life with Type 1 diabetes around the entire globe instead of mostly in resource and technology-wealthy locations.


Many people living with Type 1 diabetes struggle to survive because they cannot afford their insulin or keep it cool, for example. Others do not have access to blood glucose test strips or other essential diabetes management tools. We believe that everyone with diabetes worldwide has the right to access to healthcare, education, insulin and medical supplies and deserves the chance to live a healthy and happy life.

Although World Diabetes Day began in 1991 in order to “draw attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world” we feel that the spirit of the day has been somewhat lost. We believe World Diabetes Day should be used to raise awareness of the most pressing diabetes issues. We want to inspire action within the diabetes and global community to find sustainable solutions to these life and death issues for people living with diabetes worldwide.


We’ve created a campaign pagewhere people can show their support by sharing a photo of themselves holding up a piece of paper that says ‘’Let’s put the WORLD back in World Diabetes Day #insulin4all.‘’ There’s a submission page with easy-to-follow instructions to be part of the campaign. We’re excited to have partners and friends all over the world participating with us.

So if you haven’t already, submit your image now!

Use our resources to change your cover photos on Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the campaign. We want there to be a big social media blast of #insulin4all on the actual day, so a good start will help get the momentum going a few days ahead of time.


Do you blog? We would LOVE to spread the word about the campaign through a blog post you write about why you are participating in the campaign. Contact us if you want to discuss this further.


So Let’s put the WORLD back in #WDD2014 and push for #insulin4all!


We look forward to sharing part of World Diabetes Day with you. Together we can ensure that at least some of the focus will be on advocating for access to the essentials for people with diabetes worldwide.