World Diabetes Day - November 14, IDF observance since 1991 marking insulin co-discoverer birthday

World Diabetes Day is an International Diabetes Federation observance held every November 14. Established by the IDF and WHO in 1991, it became the first UN-recognised chronic non-communicable disease day in 2006. The date honours Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin in 1921. The day is awareness-focused, not a public holiday.

The one-line summary

IDF/WHO observance on November 14. Established 1991. Covers 537 million adults globally with diabetes. First UN-recognised chronic NCD day (2006). Not a public holiday.

Origin and history

The International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization established World Diabetes Day in 1991 in response to the rapid global rise in diabetes prevalence. The chosen date - November 14 - marks the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting (1891-1941), the Canadian Nobel laureate who co-discovered insulin in 1921 with Charles Best at the University of Toronto. Banting’s work transformed Type 1 diabetes from a fatal condition into a manageable chronic disease.

In December 2006, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 61/225 designating November 14 as “United Nations World Diabetes Day” - the first time a chronic non-communicable disease had been recognised in this way. The resolution was passed following advocacy by the IDF and member-state missions, and was timed to address the growing burden of diabetes in low- and middle-income countries.

The three types of diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic condition characterised by elevated blood glucose levels. There are three main types. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, typically diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. Type 2 diabetes - the most common form, accounting for 90-95% of cases - is characterised by insulin resistance and progressive loss of insulin secretion. Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy and increases the lifetime risk of Type 2 diabetes.

All three types share elevated blood glucose as the central problem, but management differs. Type 1 requires lifelong insulin therapy (typically via injection or pump). Type 2 management is increasingly layered: lifestyle modification, oral medications, GLP-1 agonists, and ultimately insulin in progressive cases. Gestational diabetes is typically managed with diet and monitoring, with insulin added when needed.

Banting, Best, and the discovery of insulin

Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated insulin at the University of Toronto in the summer of 1921, building on earlier work by Oskar Minkowski and Josef von Mering. The breakthrough was rapid: a 14-year-old boy named Leonard Thompson became the first human patient in January 1922. Banting and J.J.R. Macleod (his laboratory director) shared the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, with Banting sharing his portion with Best in protest of Macleod’s exclusion of Best.

The University of Toronto subsequently sold the insulin patent to its discoverers for $1, with Banting famously saying “insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world.” The discovery did not, however, solve global access: insulin remained unaffordable in many low- and middle-income countries for the rest of the 20th century. The 100-year anniversary of insulin’s discovery in 2021 prompted renewed global attention to insulin access disparities.

The blue circle symbol

World Diabetes Day’s official symbol is a blue circle, adopted in 2007. The circle symbolises unity and the global nature of the response to diabetes. The blue colour reflects the colour of the UN flag. The blue circle has become ubiquitous at diabetes events worldwide and is the visual anchor for the IDF’s communications each November.

Annual themes and multi-year campaigns

The IDF runs multi-year themed campaigns. The current cycle (2024-2026) is “Diabetes and Well-being,” focusing on the daily quality of life for people with diabetes and the systemic barriers to medication, monitoring supplies, and mental health support. The previous cycle (2021-2023) focused on access to diabetes care; the 2026 close-out year emphasises person-centred care in low-resource settings.

The global burden

Diabetes is one of the four major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prioritised by the WHO, alongside cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease. The IDF Atlas 2025 estimates 537 million adults with diabetes globally, with projections rising to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. The economic burden - including both direct healthcare costs and indirect productivity losses - exceeds $1 trillion annually.

Complications from diabetes include cardiovascular disease (the leading cause of death in diabetes patients), kidney disease (diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease globally), retinopathy (a leading cause of preventable blindness), neuropathy, and lower-limb amputations. The 2016 WHO Global Report on Diabetes called diabetes “one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century.”

Insulin access and pricing

Despite insulin’s centenary in 2021, access remains severely inequitable. The same vial of insulin can cost $3-7 to produce (generic biologics) but lists at $200-400 in the US retail market. In low-income countries, monthly insulin costs can exceed household incomes - prompting the WHO to add insulin to its Model List of Essential Medicines and the 100-year anniversary campaign to focus on access.

Major pharmaceutical producers include Novo Nordisk (Denmark), Sanofi (France), and Eli Lilly (US). Insulin biosimilars - more affordable versions - were approved in the US starting in 2015 but uptake has been slow due to patent strategies, prescriber inertia, and patient reluctance to switch. The WHO prequalification programme for insulin began in 2019 to accelerate biosimilar approval in low- and middle-income countries.

The Blue Monument campaign

Each year, hundreds of landmarks around the world are lit in blue to mark World Diabetes Day. Iconic examples include: the Empire State Building (New York), Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Tower, London Eye, Brandenburg Gate, Burj Khalifa, Taipei 101, and the Eiffel Tower. The Blue Monument campaign was launched by the IDF in 2007 alongside the blue circle symbol and has become the most visually distinctive annual diabetes event.

How to verify and primary sources

The authoritative source for World Diabetes Day is the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), which publishes the IDF Diabetes Atlas every two years. The WHO Global Report on Diabetes (2016) is the most comprehensive global policy synthesis. Country-level prevalence data come from national health ministries and the Global Burden of Disease project at IHME. The 2006 UN Resolution 61/225 is available on the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library website.