November 14: World Diabetes Day dedicated to women

"Right to Treatment, to Knowledge, to Life. Claim it, today. Change, tomorrow!" is the central message of the awareness and information campaign for Diabetes Mellitus.

According to Hellenic Diabetes Association (HEDA), one in ten women today lives with Diabetes.

In this context, the Hellenic Diabetes Association (EDE) created an animation video (duration 46"), with the central figure being the woman suffering from diabetes, the pregnant woman, the wife/mother, the wife/husband, the wife/daughter .

Through the different roles, the woman is called upon every day to support family members suffering from Diabetes and to contribute to the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. The video is shown nationwide as a social message.

The aim of the EDE information campaign is to inform and raise public awareness about the importance of affordable and fair access for all women who are at risk of developing Diabetes or living with Diabetes: a). to the basic treatments and technologies for dealing with it, b) ). in prenatal control, c). in self-management education and d) enhancing their ability to prevent type 2 Diabetes.

According to data fromof the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 20,9 million or 16,2% of women worldwide who gave birth successfully in 2015 experienced hyperglycemia of some severity during pregnancy.

About this 50% of women with a history of Diabetes, during pregnancy, develop Type 2 Diabetes within 5 to 10 years after birth, while 1 in 7 births is affected by Gestational Diabetes.

 For this reason, diabetes screening before and during pregnancy should be integrated into maternal health services, at the primary care level, with the aim of early detection and better treatment.

With data from the Hellenic Diabetes Association