World Diabetes Day Theme ‘Early Action on Diabetes’ Marked in Rome

World Diabetes Day was observed on 14 November 2026 at the Embassy of India in Rome, with members of the Indian diaspora in Italy taking part. The address was given by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, who is himself a diabetologist and professor, and who was in Italy on an official visit from 11 to 15 November 2026. Students, women, entrepreneurs and professionals made up the audience.

The theme of the day

This year's theme is ‘Early Action on Diabetes’. The Minister said the phrase captures the whole of what is needed to check the spread of the disease: detection before damage is done, timely treatment and strict control of blood glucose through both medicines and measures that need no medicine. Even with several new groups of anti-diabetic drugs now available for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, he said, the basic approach remains lifestyle change and control of obesity.

A disease arriving earlier

Dr Singh drew attention to a shift in the age profile of diabetes. A condition once associated with middle and old age is now reaching people in the prime of their working lives. That matters twice over: it can cut into productivity and quality of life, and it means blood glucose has to be held in check over a far longer stretch of years to protect the kidneys, the eyes and the heart. He pointed to the particular vulnerability of Indians to central obesity, which is an independent risk factor for metabolic disorders, and to the close links between obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension and heart disease.

What India has put in place

The Minister described an integrated approach taken since 2014: the creation of the Ministry of Ayush, the opening of wellness centres, and the observance of the International Day of Yoga on 21 June every year, which followed a proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the United Nations accepted unanimously. He also cited provisions for mass screening for diabetes and the steps taken under Ayushman Bharat to make treatment accessible and affordable.

India's experience abroad

Because India has a large number of people living with diabetes, he said, Indian experts have deep experience of managing the disease and are well placed to share it with other countries. The message of the day, he concluded, goes beyond treatment to prevention, early diagnosis and sustained management, above all among the young. The programme also included an interaction with members of the Indian community in Italy.