Many things have happened during this second quarter of 2019. Diabetes is much more than a chronic disease affecting around 60 million people in the European Region; it is a health condition that has an impact on all stages of life, affecting not only the people living with it, but also their families and friends.
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Prof Dr Şehnaz Karadeniz, Chair of IDF Europe 2019 |
In the Region, diabetes national plans widely differ from one country to another. To address this situation, it is essential to join forces in order to strengthen efforts, build effective policy and advocacy strategies and reduce diabetes prevalence and its burden in the countries where the situation is most critical and urgent. For this purpose, in the last meeting of the Diabetes Evidence Initiative in Central Europe (DEICE) in Warsaw we decided to establish an expert working group to create a catalogue of best practices from both within and outside some of the Central European countries. This will serve to address barriers and explore opportunities towards generating policy recommendations and establishing strong links between the expert group and members of IDFE’s IMPACT Network of national parliamentarians, who are working to improve diabetes prevention and care. We want to thank Astra Zeneca for their support to the organization of DEICE Meeting.
Working to advocate for people with diabetes and effecting policy changes can only be attained through a new generation to follow up on the progress achieved and tackle the challenges to come. So good news! A brand new generation of diabetes leaders just came out of the 9th edition of IDF Europe’s Youth Leadership Camp which took place in Türkiye. Hosted by our member, the Turkish Diabetes Foundation, 22 participants learned new tools and built on their skills to advocate for the rights of people living with, or at risk of, diabetes in Europe.
Much more will come in the following months. We look forward to meeting you at IDF Europe’s Symposium on Sept. 16th and roundtable discussion taking place on Sept. 18th during the EASD Barcelona Annual Meeting. This year we will discuss at our Symposium how diabetes has been tackled under the NCD agenda and we look forward to listening to our members’ inputs on access to medical devices and new medical technology in our roundtable discussion.
The next important milestones will be World Diabetes Day 2019 and the next IDF General Assembly taking place in Busan.
This year the Diabetes lunch event at the European Parliament on Nov 14th organized by IDF Europe will be done under the auspices of the Finnsh Presidency thanks to Marjatta Stenius Kaukonen and the Finnish Diabetes Association. You will be communicated soon for the details of the program.
In Busan we will be electing our next Board Members together with the Chair-Elect. The call is already sent out and we are very much looking forward to have applicants for the Board position from all over Europe.
IDF Europe stays strong and united in an unpredictable and changing environment. Because the prevalence of diabetes in the European region continues to increase, the people living with diabetes and their families deserve our ongoing and tireless commitment to improve their lives.
On behalf of the IDF Europe Board and the Regional Office, I wish you all a great summer 2019.
Prof Dr Şehnaz Karadeniz,
IDF Europe Chair
