World Diabetes Day Today

[caption id="attachment_5565" align="alignleft" width="200"] Melbourne Town Hall lit up for World Diabetes Day[/caption]
With the prevalence of all types of diabetes on the increase internationally,  2013 World Diabetes Day today is themed  ‘protect our future’.
Blue-lighted landmark buildings around the world and Australia will mark World Diabetes Day, reflecting the power of the global diabetes movement to alter the diabetes landscape. In Australia, the following buildings are blue-lighted: Sydney Opera House (Sydney), Melbourne’s GPO (Melbourne); Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Brisbane); The Rundle Lantern (Adelaide); Launceston Town Hall and St Matthias Anglican Church in Windmere (Launceston); Perth Bell Tower, Perth Council House, Freemantle Roundhouse, Victoria Hall in Fremantle, Rottnest Lighthouse, Kalgoorlie and Boulder Town Halls, Trafalgar Bridge (Perth).
Diabetes Australia Young Leaders took part in a Melbourne light up preview, representing over 31,000 Australians under the age of 30 living with diabetes.
An unprecedented $3.5 million in funding for Australian diabetes research was presented at the Diabetes Australia Research Trust grants ceremony yesterday. The largest grant of $150,000 was allocated was to a Victorian researcher, Dr Elaina Marino, who will focus on understanding the role of diet, the gut microbiota and immune cells in the development of type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes Australia CEO Prof Greg Johnson acknowledged that reducing the impact of diabetes has never been more pressing: “On World Diabetes Day we’re raising awareness of a condition that is growing in prevalence in every country and at the same time Diabetes Australia is making our largest-ever commitment to Australian diabetes research.”
World-wide, 382 million people are living with diabetes. If diabetes was a country, it would be the third largest country in the world.  Diabetes killed 5.1 million people around the world last year.
In Australia, 280 people develop diabetes every day, adding to the 1.7 million Australians already diagnosed and living with it every day. Hundreds of thousands of Australians have silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. Over 2 million Australians have pre-diabetes and are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The 22nd World Diabetes Congress comes to Melbourne on 2–6 December. The Congress will feature 400 internationally-renowned speakers and exhibitors, showcasing their diabetes expertise, research and discoveries in all fields of diabetes. People interested can register atwww.worlddiabetescongress.org