United Nations Radio

The focus of this year's World Diabetes Day, November 14th , is the effect of diabetes on children and adolescents.

Diabetes happens to be one of the most common chronic diseases to affect young people, as we hear from Jean-Claude Mbanya, President-elect of the International Diabetes Foundation:

"There is a notion that diabetes affects mostly the older people. We want to increase awareness of diabetes in children and to stress that no child should die of diabetes."

Mr. Mbanya says 75 per cent of children with diabetes in developing countries are in desperate need. Those who need life-saving insulin and glucose testing must pay for it. He says there needs to be a plan that gives insulin free to children who need it in developing countries. There are warning signs of the disease in children that sometimes mask as influenza:

"Frequent urination and when they start wetting the bed when they stopped wetting the bed a long time ago; they have increased hunger; you start seeing children loosing weight; tiredness; they lack interest and concentration and sometimes these children vomit and then they have stomach pains and people think they have the flu."

Jean-Claude Mbanya, President-elect of the International Diabetes Foundation. Gerry Adams, United Nations.

(duration: 1'16")