‘Sugar is the new tobacco.” In India, unsurprisingly, people's first thought when they hear the term sugar is diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), around half a billion people in the world are living with diabetes. This means that roughly every tenth person on the planet has diabetes. The number is projected to grow to a whopping 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. The terror does not end here. Diabetes was responsible for 6.7 million deaths in 2021, which roughly translates to 1 death every 5 seconds. The report's findings highlight the elephant in the room - that diabetes is one of the fastest-growing health emergencies of the 21st century. 1

In response to growing concerns over the health and economic impact of diabetes, IDF established World Diabetes Day (WDD) in 1991 with the support of the WHO. It became an official UN day in 2006. It is observed each year on November 14 which happens to be Sir Frederick Banting's birthday. He, along with Charles Best, is famously responsible for the discovery of insulin in 1922. WDD is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign. It puts . . .