DAY is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization responding to the needs of persons with diabetes (PWDs) thus striving to fulfill their aspirations of improved quality of life.

At DAY, we provide guidance to the people with diabetes (PWD) irrespective for their socio-economic background on how to manage their diabetes through our Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) program. The aim is to make them better versed in taking care of themselves. In doing so, we explore and learn from others about the actual hindrances and obstacles they face in day-to-day management of diabetes. Diabetes is a growing epidemic that cannot be ignored anymore. In addition to the PWD, their family members as well as care givers (physicians, nurses and diabetes educators) have an important role to play in ensuring quality of life.

Policy advocacy is an essential component of diabetes care. There is an urgent need for voicing the issues faced by PWD and their care givers to influence policy advocacy and reach out to the policy makers to increase focus on research programs aimed at prevention and management other than working towards making affordable diabetes care available. At DAY, we have a wealth of information available by virtue of our efforts over the last decade. We believe that active participation of the PWD and their care givers can have a direct positive impact on the development of an integrated approach to diabetes management. These are the people whose contributions as advocates for policies are an absolute necessity for building a strong and vibrant disease management policy.

We have organized our policy advocacy program in an inclusive manner by bringing on board the PWD and their care givers. We strive to address the following essential areas towards supporting development of updated and more streamlined policies on management of diabetes.

• Diabetes Self-management Training Act: addressing the emotional impact on the quality of life of PWD, people with pre-diabetes and obesity remains a neglected area that affects the success of diabetes management programs. With Diabetes Educators yet to be given recognition as paramedics, their immense efforts with patients lack the necessary recognition. Institutionalize of a Diabetes Self-management Training Act at the national level can expand the scope of respectful and recognized employment of Diabetes Educators across the country and the coverage of diabetes education to setting beyond the hospital or clinic.
• Increase of research funding on understanding, treating and preventing diabetes: Insufficient attention is being paid to researching effective ways to promote healthy eating and exercise, or to stop the advertising and sale of junk food in schools. A better balance in funding of health-related research highlighting the need for new and effective ways to get people to change behaviour, and of research into policies that support healthier behaviors at a population level is a necessity. By publicly recommending sponsorship from pharmaceutical industries for increasing research funding, we can help ensure continued advances in understanding, treating, and eventually preventing and curing diabetes. May there be some mandate on these big industries to provide free insulin and other lifesaving drugs to people living below poverty line.

As an outcome of our recent participation in the prestigious ‘SAARC Control 2030’, we have also taken a pledge to undertake the following within the ambits of our policy advocacy initiative:

• To observe the IDED (International Diabetes Educators Day) as a recognition of  the Diabetes Educators(DE) as healthcare workers / paramedics on the 5^thof September in the respective countries every year;
• Facilitate creation of a SAARC DIABETES EDUCATOR’S FORUM & organise a conference with them every 2 years
• Popularize our 2 slogans so as to ensure adoption of the same by the Ministry of Broadcasting, Education, Health & Family Welfare and various social media agencies to arouse mass awareness on diabetes management;
• Launch and promote our “Comb your feet, too” initiative – Adopt as a phrase in routine health care to highlight the importance of the cheapest method to tackle the deadliest & most expensive complication of Diabetes – Diabetes Foot;
• Promoting the importance of DEs as the currently missing link in Diabetes care and help address the gap in preventive & curative care of diabetes;
• Promote immediate engagement of NGOs & other CBOs to implement the NPCDCS at the grassroot level
• Advocate for allowing PwD (T1 & T2) as potential donors during Blood Donation camps – a WISH not to deny human rights of satisfaction without reason(scientific).