Polskie Stowarzyszenie Diabetykow

Address :

ul. Wiosny Ludow 77
02-495 Warsaw, Poland
Poland

Telephone number :

+48-226684719

Email :

prezes@diabetyk.org.pl

Website :

http://www.diabetyk.org.pl

Facebook :

https://www.facebook.com/PolskieStowarzyszenieDiabetykow/

Founded in :

1981

Member of IDF since :

1991

Number of members :

6000

About

The Polish Diabetes Association (Polskie Stowarzyszenie Diabetykow) is the oldest patients’ association in Poland.

At the beginning, in the 1980s, the association helped to provide people with diabetes with basic medications, equipment, and even food (food was rationed then).

The Association has nearly 500 circles in the entire country, from big cities to small villages, in order for our help to reach as many patients as possible. We estimate that about 120 000 people per year benefit from our activities. The leaders of the particular circles, as well as other activists, are all volunteers.

The headquarters of the Polish Diabetes Association are located in Warsaw.

Main Focus

• Diabetes education in its broad sense (lectures, seminars, meetings, conferences, books, magazines, leaflets, individual counselling, web page)
• Helping diabetics in all the possible ways (but not financially): whenever possible, providing free diabetes equipment, helping with finding right doctors or clinics, fighting against discrimination or social exclusion of diabetics
• Monitoring the level of diabetes care in the country, trying to improve the standards and access to modern medications and treatment
• Integrating diabetics regionally, as well as nationally, so that they may create peer groups, give and receive psychological help from one another, and support one another

Activities

Their typical activities include meetings and seminars on diabetes management and complications, as well as peer support groups, at least once a month in all of their circles, in big cities once a week.

For World Diabetes Day they usually hold various events in practically all of their circles. These include: educational meetings, scientific conferences, diabetological fairs, free screenings, marches, award giving, artistic performances, and in some places lighting buildings or monuments in blue. They also try to make themselves as visible in the media as possible, to a satisfactory effect. They also promote blue colour: wear blue clothes, produce blue candles and gadgets, hang blue banners, etc. They display WDD posters, translated into Polish, wherever they can.

Message from the President

Ms Anna Sliwinska "As a member of IDF we feel we have proper access to all the diabetes information, news and events. Our association would be far behind if we were not members of IDF."