President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, request that you attend the United Nations High-Level Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) in September to push for better health for all of those living with diabetes.
This September, you and your fellow political leaders will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to halt a global epidemic that is killing and disabling millions of people, impoverishing families, and undermining economic progress. The UN NCD Summit is a chance for the Government of the United States of America to play a leading global role in confronting this major threat to the health, prosperity and security of all of us and future generations.
Together, the four major NCDs – diabetes, cancer, heart disease and chronic respiratory disease – are the world’s number one killer. It is estimated that some 35 million people die from NCDs each year, and 14 million of these deaths could be averted or delayed. Diabetes alone creates a huge burden – over 300 million people worldwide have diabetes now, and that figure will reach half a billion within a generation if we do not act now. One dollar in every eight spent across the world on healthcare last year went on diabetes – a staggering USD378 billion in total. No country rich or poor is immune from the impact. In the US alone, there are 25.8 million people with diabetes, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that by 2050, US prevalence will rise to as many as one in three Americans. EVERY one of us knows someone touched by diabetes.
As a group of committed diabetes advocates, we ask you to attend the UN Summit and work with other political leaders to take action. We have attached the NCD Alliance’s(1) proposals for the Summit outcomes, which we believe should be the basis of the political response to NCDs. The global failure to invest in NCDs has led to the current crisis, yet we have cost-effective solutions that can save lives and make economic sense. These include action on prevention and diagnosis as well as universal access to affordable, high-quality essential medicines and medical technologies. We are also calling for the establishment of a Stop NCDs partnership to lead multi- sectoral and coordinated action, and a UN Decade of Action on NCDs to implement the commitments governments will make at the UN Summit in New York. We would be pleased to provide your office with any further information in preparation for the UN Summit.
NCDs such as diabetes affect us all. Diabetes increasingly strikes children, threatening international economic progress. But we are not powerless. We have achievable cost-effective solutions. We need political leadership now to make them a reality. Please be a champion for Non-Communicable Diseases by attending the UN Summit in September and safeguard the health and prosperity of future generations in the US and around the world.
Yours sincerely,
[All signatures on file]
Kelly Close (diaTribe)
Research & product news for 15,000+ people with diabetes
Manny Hernandez (Diabetes Hands Foundation)
Serving 200,000 people with diabetes every month
Phil Southerland (Team Type 1)
CEO/Founder Team Type 1, author of Not Dead Yet, and complication free after 29 years with Type 1 Diabetes due to always having had access to insulin and testing supplies.
Bruce Buckingham, M.D. (Stanford Medical Center)
Professor, Pediatrics - Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes
Jessica Apple, Michael Aviad, Karmel Allison (ASweetLife.org)
Reaching 30,000 People Affected by Diabetes Each Month
David Edelman, Elizabeth Edelman (DiabetesDaily.com)
A diabetes community reaching 300,000 each month.
Francine R. Kaufman, M.D. (Childrens Hospital Los Angeles)
Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics and Communications at USC - The Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism
Amy Tenderich (DiabetesMine)
A leading diabetes blog serving 50,000 readers a month
Riva Greenberg (The Huffington Post and DiabetesStories.com)
Reaching more than 150,000 diabetes patients, professionals and readers each month
Paula Ford-Martin (dLife)
Editor-in-Chief, Patient Advocate, Author
Zachary T. Bloomgarden, M.D. (www.jdiabetes.com)
Editor, the Journal of Diabetes
Sheri Colberg, PhD (www.shericolberg.com)
Expert on diabetes and exercise, author of 8 books on lifestyle and diabetes management
Sarah Knotts – Insulin, Glucose, Test Strip Stories
Sharing real stories of living with Type 1 Diabetes since 1988.
William “Lee” Dubois, Diabetes Author, Educator, & Advocate
Reaching more than 3 million people a month via columns and articles
Steven V. Edelman, M.D.
Founder and Director of Taking Control of Your Diabetes
Sandra Bourdette (Taking Control Of Your Diabetes)
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Educating and empowering the diabetes community since 1995
Irl B. Hirsch, M.D. (University of Washington Med Ctr-Roosevelt)
Professor of Medicine
Neal Kaufman, M.D., M.P.H. (UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health)
Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health
Tom Karlya (Diabetesdad)
Columnist at dLife, 1 million+ people with diabetes
Lois Jovanovi, M.D. (Sansum Diabetes Research Institute)
CEO & Chief Scientific Officer
James S. Hirsch
Author of “Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes”
Bernard Farrell (Diaboogle.com and Diabetes Technology Blog)
Diabetes answers for 1,000 people per month and reviewing technology for 3,000 readers/month.
Scott K. Johnson (scottsdiabetes.com)
Diabetes blog reaching thousands per month
George Simmons (Ninjabetic)
Sharing my story so others feel less alone.
Randolph B. Linde, M.D. (Endocrinologist)
Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Brandy Barnes (www.DiabetesSisters.org)
A national non profit organization devoted to the issues faced by women with diabetes) and a woman who has lived with diabetes for more than 21 years.
Kelly Booth (kellywpa.wordpress.com)
Helping people with diabetes complications
Kerri Sparling (SixUntilMe.com)
Patient Blogger, Diabetes Advocate, and Living with Type 1 Diabetes
Howard Zisser, M.D. (Sansum Diabetes Research Institute)
Director of Clinical Research and Diabetes Technology
Bruce W. Bode M.D. FACE
Atlanta Diabetes Associate
Michael W. Hoskins (The Diabetic’s Corner Booth)
Personal blog reaching 5,500 globally each month.
Karen Graffeo (BitterSweetDiabetes.com)
Patient blog reaching several hundred subscribers
Gina Capone (DiabetesTalkfest.com, Juvenation.org)
Patient blogger and community manager reaching over 19,000+ affected by diabetes.
Crystal Lane (Randomly capitalizeD)
Diabetes Advocate letting hundreds know they are not alone
Scott Strange (StrangelyDiabetic.com)
Sharing decades of diabetes trials and tribulations
Lorraine Sisto (This is Caleb…)
Daily readers in excess of 500.
Wendy K. Rose, RN (www.CandyHeartsBlog.com)
Diabetes Advocate
Aliza Chana Zaleon (Aliza With Diabetes)
1,000+ readers and counting
Michael W. Durbin (www.mydiabeticheart.com)
Diabetes Advocate, living with Type 2 Diabetes and Congestive Heart Failure
Kim Vlasnik (Texting My Pancreas; You Can Do This Project)
Reaching 12,000+ people with diabetes every month
Mari Ruddy (Team WILD and Red Rider Recognition Program Founder)
Representing over 5,000 cyclists and athletes with diabetes
Scott Strumello (Scott’s Web Log)
A Patient- Written Blog Reaching An Average of 2,500 Visitors Per M onth
Lahle Wolfe (Isletsofhope.com, Pre-Diabetes.com)
7.9 m illion visitors since 2005, 10,000+ subscribers
Bill Woods (1HappyDiabetic.com)
“It’s A ll A bout Your A ttitude!”
Martin Wood (DiabeticallySpeaking.com)
Type 1 diabetes blogger and advocate. Sharing my life with diabetes so that others may have a voice.
Chris Stocker (The Life of a Diabetic)
Reaching 1,000’s of people with diabetes every day!
Naomi Kingery, The Diabetic Diva (www.livetolovediabetes.com)
Author and blogger who has reached over 10,000 people with diabetes.
Victoria Cumbow (www.victoriacumbow.com)
Type 1 diabetic for 18 years, advocate, patient and health blogger at Dia-Beat-This and @victoriacumbow
Hallie K. Addington (The Princess and The Pump)
I am a wife, mother, teacher… and a pancreas!
Kelly Kunik (diabetesaliciousness.blogspot.com)
Spreading Diabetes Validation through Humor,Ownership & Advocacy
Elissa R. Weitzman, ScD, MSc
Assistant Professor Harvard Medical School | Children’s Hospital Boston
Cherise Shockley (Diabetes Social Media Advocacy)
Diagnosed with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults in June 2004. Creator of Diabetes Social Media Advocacy (DSMA) weekly twitter chat and blog talk radio.
Merle Gleeson (Type 1 Diabetes Lounge)
Meri Schuhmacher (Our Diabetic Life)
Blogger, advocate, friend to 1000+ mothers and fathers of children with diabetes.
Satish K. Garg, MD (Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado Denver)
Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics; Director, Adult Program; Clinical and Research Endowed Chairs Editor-in-Chief, Diabetes Technology and Theraputics
Beatriz Dominguez (Sweet Bea)
Diabetes Patient and Advocate
Jessica Collins (jess-meandd.blogspot.com)
Diabetes blogger and advocate
Allison Blass (Lemonade Life)
A personal blog about living with diabetes serving 5,000 readers a month
Leighann Calentine (D-Mom Blog)
Mom of a child with type 1 diabetes, author of D-Mom Blog reaching 8,000+ families per month, diabetes advocate.
Hope Warshaw, RD, CDE (www.hopewarshaw.com)
Diabetes educator, author with nearly 1 million books in print
Nicolas Cuttriss, MD, MPH (www.ayudainc.net)
Empowering youth to serve as agents of change in diabetes communities abroad
Jane Jeffrie Seley, DNP MPH MSN BC-ADM CDE (New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell)
Diabetes Nurse Practitioner
Barry H Ginsberg, MD, PhD
Diabetes Consultants
Prof. Dr. Lutz Heinemann, PhD (Profil Institut für Stoffwechselforschung GmbH)
Partner and Scientific Consultant
Bennet Dunlap (Your Diabetes May Vary, The BetesNOW)
Advocate for families living with diabetes. Father of two type 1 teens.
Jay Skyler, MD (University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Diabetes Research Institute)
Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychology at Associate Director for Academic Programs at DRI
Darrell M Wilson, MD (Stanford University and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital)
Professor and Chief, Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes
Ginger Vieira (www.Living-in-Progress.com)
Type 1 diabetes advocate, vlogger, author and health coach.
Lee Ann Thill, MA, ATR-BC, LPC (www.thebuttercompartment.com)
Type1 diabetic for 32 yrs, blogger, art therapist, diabetes/mental health advocate, artist.
Mariela Glandt, MD
Endocrinology Department, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital
Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, MPH
International Health Council Representative at, Ikerbasque Research Professor, Associate Editor at Family, Systems, & Health
Sysy Morales (TheGirlsGuidetoDiabetes.com)
Encouraging 10,000 women with diabetes to live their best life every month
Kitty Castellini, Founder, President & CEO (Diabetes Living Today®)
National Broadcast News on Diabetes for 120,000 with diabetes
Kathy White (kathy-mynewislets.blogspot.com)
Islet cell transplant recipient
Anne Findlay (annetics, Team Type 1 cyclist)
Advocating for healthier living through exercise for people with diabetes
Gretchen Becker (www.gretchenbecker.com)
Author of “The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes”
Cheryl Alkon
Author of Balancing Pregnancy With Pre-Existing Diabetes: Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby
Ronnie Gregory (www.thepoordiabetic.com)
Erin D. O’Neill Argueta (www.edonadesigns.blogspot.com)
Living creatively for over 39 years with Type I Diabetes
Cara Richardson (countrygirldiabetic.blogspot.com)
Every Day, Every Hour, Every Minute
Cheri Pate (princessladybug.blogspot.com)
Michael Robinton (Insulin Pumpers)
Executive Director
1 The NCD Alliance comprises the International Diabetes Federation, the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease, the Union for International Cancer Control, and the World Heart Federation. Together the NCD Alliance represents 900 member associations in 170 countries: www.ncdalliance.org
For the NCD Alliance web site click here
