NEWS ALERT: Advocacy Toolkit and International Charter of Rights

IDF Advocacy Toolkit and International Charter of Rights and Responsiblities of People with Diabetes

 April 12, 2011

On Tusday April 12, 2011, IDF launched two key documents to support our diabetes advocacy efforts for the UN Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The first is ‘Calling the World to Action on Diabetes – An Advocacy Toolkit’. This Toolkit was identified as a need by our 220 Member Associations in a consultation we held in November-December 2010. The Toolkit aims to bridge global to local diabetes advocacy through information, guidance and key tools and resources. It provides an overview of the Summit, practical guidance on effective advocacy and campaigning, and useful downloadable resources such as sample letters, press release and briefings, key messages and sound bites, and other advocacy publications. Whilst the primary target audience is IDF’s Member Associations, this Toolkit has attracted great interest from a broader group and we hope it will be helpful in all of our efforts to ensure the UN Summit is a success.
 
The second document is the first ever ‘International Charter of Rights and Responsibilities of People with Diabetes’. The Charter was identified as a priority during the Global Diabetes Plan expert meeting and consultation, and consequently highlighted as a key action area in our Call to Action on Diabetes launched on World Diabetes Day 2010. IDF convened an expert group in January, led by President-Elect Micky Hirst, to build the foundations of this Charter. The Charter sets out the rights as well as the responsibilities of people with diabetes in terms of care, information and education and social justice. It represents the gold standard to which all countries and people can aspire. We hope this document will raise awareness of the rights of people with diabetes, inspire collective action to tackle the stigma and discrimination that many people with diabetes face, and prove to be a powerful advocacy tool for the global diabetes community as we approach the UN Summit on NCDs. The Charter is included in the resources section of the Advocacy Toolkit.
 
I am grateful to Anne-Marie Felton and the Global Advocacy Task Force, and the Executive Office staff for their work in pulling these important documents together.
 
Please share these documents with your networks and put your support behind them.
 
Kind regards,
Jean Claude Mbanya