The United Nations Diabetes Resolution and the Diabetes Pandemic - A Call to Action

Global Alliance for Women’s Health GAWHThe Global Alliance for Women’s Health GAWH is committed to advancing women’s health in all stages of life and at all policy levels through health

Global Alliance for Women’s Health (GAWH)

Advancing women’s health throughout the life span

777 United Nations Plaza, 7th Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: +1 212 286 0424 www.gawh.org

Merck & Co., Inc.

One Merck Drive Whitehouse, NJ 08889-0100 Tel: +1 908 423 1000 www.merck.com

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk A/S Novo Allé,

2880 Bagsværd Denmark Tel: +45 4444 8888 www.novonordisk.com

Permanent Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania

to the United Nations Office at Geneva

Avenue Blanc 47

1202 Geneva Tel: +41 22 731 89 20 Fax: +41 22 732 82 55 Email: mission.tanzania@ties.itu.int

Global Alliance for Women’s Health

in co-sponsorship with the

Permanent Mission of the United Republic

of Tanzania to the United Nations Office at

Geneva

in partnership with

Merck & Co., Inc

and

Novo Nordisk A/S

The United Nations Diabetes Resolution and the Diabetes Pandemic - A Call to Action

Thursday, 17 May 2007

1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

U.N Delegates Dining Room Palais des Nations, Geneva

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Global Alliance for Women’s Health (GAWH)

The Global Alliance for Women’s Health (GAWH) is committed to

advancing women’s health in all stages of life and at all policy levels

through health promotion, education, advocacy and program

implementation GAWH believes that long-term initiatives and

commitments are needed and that partnering with non-governmental

organizations (NGOs), governmental organizations, the private sector

and academic institutions is necessary to provide effective health care

and research for women

In 2003, the Global Alliance for Women’s Health began a diabetes

campaign to expand international awareness of the increasing

prevalence of diabetes and its impact on women GAWH organized the

first symposium ever on diabetes at U.N headquarters in March 2004 at

the 48th Session of the U.N Commission on the Status of Women By

March 2005, GAWH had organized six additional events and had

presented a statement to the 49th Session of the Commission on the

Status of Women

GAWH’s outreach extends to more than 110 countries Each year, our

website is visited by more than 90,000 visitors Additionally, the Global

Alliance for Women’s Health has:

 Created worldwide women’s health networks on several

issues including tobacco, trachoma and diabetes

 Campaigned successfully among member states at the

United Nations to include provisions for women’s health

throughout the life span in four platforms of the world

conferences in the 1990s

 Developed partnerships across the public and private

sectors in all regions of the world to advance women’s

health

 Developed donation programs for meningitis vaccine and

palliative treatment for oral thrush for persons living with

HIV/AIDS

 Campaigned to expedite treatment for HIV/AIDS in

Sub-Saharan Africa

Since its founding 13 years ago, GAWH has developed public-private

partnerships for health advocacy and education with more than 80

member states from all U.N regions With these governmental partners

and with the private sector partners, GAWH has presented symposia, roundtables, briefings, luncheons and receptions throughout the world: in Geneva, Addis Ababa, Beijing, Jakarta, Dakar, Istanbul, Copenhagen and Washington, DC A large number of the meetings have been held at U.N headquarters in New York and at member states’ U.N missions: e.g., Australia, Germany and Romania

Novo Nordisk is leading the fight against diabetes Defeating diabetes is our passion and our business We have made a promise to change diabetes, which starts by recognizing that the status quo is not good enough We want to position ourselves as a partner and catalyst for change in our mission to finding ways of improving and changing the way diabetes is managed, and ultimately – defeated

Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company and already a world leader in diabetes care The company has the broadest diabetes product portfolio

in the industry, including the most advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems In addition, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services that make a significant difference to patients, the medical profession and society With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs more than 23,500 employees in 79 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries For more information, visit novonordisk.com

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Produced by Anne Neumann

Merck & Co., Inc is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company

dedicated to putting patients first Established in 1891, Merck discovers,

develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines to address

unmet medical needs The company devotes extensive efforts to

increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not

only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who

need them Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a

not-for-profit service For more information, visit www.merck.com

Since its founding in 1891, Merck researchers have pioneered

innovations for treating serious diseases – a tradition that produced such

major medical advances as treatments for rheumatoid arthritis,

tuberculosis, cholesterol management, osteoporosis and HIV/AIDS

Merck’s long-standing record of achievement continues as the company

works to develop breakthrough medicines and vaccines Today, Merck

scientists are focusing on novel treatments in critical areas such as

diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and vaccines

Recognizing that serving the public interest also serves our business

interests, Merck is a leader in global health policy issues worldwide In

the United States, Merck provided its medicines for free to more than

600,000 Americans in need in 2003 through its Patient Assistance

Program In the developing world and in those countries hardest hit by

the epidemic, Merck offers its HIV/AIDS medicines at prices at which it

does not profit And, through a partnership with the government of

Botswana and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck has helped

build a large-scale, comprehensive program focused on HIV prevention,

treatment, care and support As part of the program, the Merck

Company Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation each

provided $50 million to the partnership

With a focus on discovering and developing novel medicines and vaccines, as well as innovative programs and policies to ensure that people throughout the world have access to them, Merck contributes to improving the health of people in all nations

United Nations A/RES/61/225

General

18 January 2007

Sixty-first session

Agenda item 113

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

[without reference to a Main Committee (A/61/L.39/Rev.1 and Add.1)]

61/225 World Diabetes Day

The General Assembly, Recalling the 2005 World Summit Outcome1 and the United Nations Millennium Declaration2, as well as the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, in particular the health-related development goals set out therein, and its resolutions 58/3 of 27 October 2003, 60/35 of 30 November 2005 and 60/265 of 30 June 2006,

Recognizing that strengthening public-health and health-care

delivery systems is critical to achieving internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals,

Recognizing also that diabetes is a chronic, debilitating and

costly disease associated with severe complications, which poses severe risks for families, Member States and the entire world and serious challenges to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals,

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1 See resolution 60/1

2 See resolution 55/2

06-50787

Recalling World Health Assembly resolutions WHA42.36 of 19

May 1989 on the prevention and control of diabetes mellitus3 and

WHA57.17 of 22 May 2004 on a global strategy on diet, physical activity

and health4,

Welcoming the fact that the International Diabetes Federation

has been observing 14 November as World Diabetes Day at a global

level since 1991, with co-sponsorship of the World Health Organization,

Recognizing the urgent need to pursue multilateral efforts to

promote and improve human health, and provide access to treatment

and health-care education,

1 Decides to designate 14 November, the current World

Diabetes Day, as a United Nations Day, to be observed every year

beginning in 2007;

2 Invites all Member States, relevant organizations of the United

Nations system and other international organizations, as well as civil

society, including non-governmental organizations and the private

sector, to observe World Diabetes Day in an appropriate manner, in

order to raise public awareness of diabetes and related complications, as

well as its prevention and care, including through education and the

mass media;

3 Encourages Member States to develop national policies for the

prevention, treatment and care of diabetes in line with the sustainable

development of their health-care systems, taking into account the

internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium

Development Goals;

4 Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present

resolution to the attention of all Member States and organizations of the

United Nations system

83rd plenary meeting

20 December 2006

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3 See World Health Organization, Forty-second World Health Assembly, Geneva, 8–19 May

1989, Resolutions and Decisions, Annexes (WHA42/1989/REC/1).

4 Ibid., Fifty-seventh World Health Assembly, Geneva, 17–22 May 2004, Resolutions and

Decisions, Annexes (WHA57/2004/REC/1).

2

UN

Millennium Development Goals

See http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

The United Nations Diabetes Resolution

and the Diabetes Pandemic - A Call to Action

Agenda

Welcoming Remarks

 Elaine M Wolfson, Ph.D.

President and Founder, Global Alliance for Women’s Health

Presenters

(London)

o Keynote address, “The Global Burden of

Diabetes and the Impact of Prevention and Care”

President-Elect, International Diabetes Federation;

Physician and Professor of Endocrinology; Faculty of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, University of

Yaoundé I, Cameroon

 Dr Harvey Katzeff

o “The Diabetes Epidemic: New Tools for a

Brighter Future”

Global Director for Scientific Affairs – Diabetes for

Merck Research Labs, Merck & Co., Inc.

o “Status of Diabetes Care in Africa”

Consultant Physician and Assistant Medical

Administrator, Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Hon Lecturer, Department of

Medicine, Muhimbili University of Health Science, Dar

es Salaam

 Professor AK Azad Khan, MD, Ph.D., FRCP (London)

o “Diabetes in South-East Asia”

Founder President, Bangladesh Gastroenterology Society, Honorary President for life; Founder Secretary General, Bangladesh Endocrinology Society, Currently Vice-President

Questions and Answers

Dr Harvey Katzeff

Global Director for Scientific Affairs – Diabetes for Merck Research Labs

Merck & Co., Inc

Dr Harvey Katzeff attended Carnegie Mellon University where he studied Chemistry and Physics He then received his medical degree from the State University of NY, Downstate Medical Center in 1976 He performed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Arizona, Good Samaritan Hospital, in Phoenix, Az and his fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism was completed at the University of Vermont Dr Katzeff then joined the faculty of Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University where he studied the interrrelationships between nutrition and thyroid hormone metabolism Dr Katzeff was then appointed as the Director of Diabetes at North Shore University Hospital and then Chief of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Long Island Jewish/ North Shore Health System prior to joining the Division of Clinical Research as Medical Director in Metabolism at the Merck Research Laboratory Dr Katzeff is presently the Global Director for Scientific Affairs – Diabetes for Merck Research Labs

Dr Katzeff has received numerous honors including a Public Health Service Traineeship and a NIH New Investigator Award as well as numerous research grants He was Chairman of the Professional Education Committee and then President of the Eastern Region of the American Diabetes Association He has published over 40 original reports in the medical literature as well as book chapters and reviews and has been a journal reviewer for numerous journals He is recognized for his expertise in the study of the interrelationship between diabetes and obesity

Elaine M Wolfson, Ph.D.

President and Founder Global Alliance for Women’s Health (GAWH)

A political scientist and academic since 1967, Dr Wolfson became a

representative of a non-governmental organization at the United Nations

in 1991 As a result of her research in the formation of social policy,

more than two decades of work on women’s health policy, and her

experience at the United Nations, she noted the consistent

under-attention and inadequate information available about all stages of

women’s health throughout the world She founded the Global Alliance

for Women’s Health (GAWH), a non-governmental organization, in 1994

in order to help address these shortcomings through women’s health

advocacy, education and promotion internationally

During the 1960’s, her research on the formation of social policy in the

United States convinced her of the importance of the private sector in

the development of sustainable economic opportunity It also became

apparent to her that many of the advances in women’s health garnered

in the twentieth century in the US often originated from private

initiatives—from individuals as well as corporations, from foundations

and academia and from the profit as well as the not-for-profit sectors In

those instances, the role of government in developing public policy for

women’s health was reactive

In the early 1980’s after finishing a special program for Ph.D.s in the arts

and sciences at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,

Dr Wolfson began teaching courses on business and society in an MBA

program at Baruch College, a branch of the City University of New York

Her lectures and her research on women’s health reinforced her

understanding of public-private partnerships With her founding of the

Global Alliance for Women’s Health, these ideas coalesced

Public-private partnerships became a cornerstone of GAWH’s mission and its

method for advancing women’s health internationally

Dr Wolfson was educated at Smith College (BA) and New York University

(MA and Ph.D.) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

(certificate) She has taught at New York University, the State University

of New York, Long Island University, Rutgers University and the City

University of New York, and held an adjunct appointment at the Columbia University School of Public Health She has lectured on women’s health at international seminars in Spain, Italy and Korea, and has consulted on women’s health with the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Her publications on women’s health include articles, monographs and edited compilations

Professor AK Azad Khan, MD, Ph.D., FRCP

(London)

Founder President, Bangladesh Gastroenterology Society, Honorary President for life

Founder Secretary General, Bangladesh Endocrinology Society,

Currently Vice-President

Professor AK Azad Khan is the Founder Professor, Gastroenterology in Bangladesh He has published over 150 original research papers Currently, he is Honorary President for life of the Bangladesh Gastroenterology Society and Vice-President of the Bangladesh Endocrinology Society In addition, he is Founder Secretary General of the Asian Network for Research in anti-diabetic plant materials (ANRAP)

As the President of the Diabetes Association of Bangladesh, Professor Khan is the Chief Organizer of Diabetic Health Care delivery and primary prevention in Bangladesh

Professor Khan received his MBBS from the University of Dhaka in 1965 with honors in Pharmacology and Forensic Medicine In 1970, he received his FCPS degree in Medicine from the College of Physician & Surgeons of Pakistan and was awarded with the Col Jefrey Gold Medal for best performance in Pakistan Professor Khan obtained his D Phil from Oxford University in 1977

Professor Khan has been awarded several honorary degrees In 1999, he received the Honoris Causa Medicinae Doctorem from the University of Basel, Switzerland Since 2000, he has been a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London Professor Khan became a Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences in 2001