World Diabetes Day walk slated today

By: Jake Uitti
   PLAINSBORO — More than 500 employees, friends and family members of Plainsboro-based Novo Nordisk are expected to take to the streets for the "Unite for Diabetes" walk today, World Diabetes Day.
   The walk participants hope to make a national impact by lobbying for a United Nations health resolution.
   The walk, which will wind through Forrestal Village between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., kicks off the company’s effort to focus attention on diabetes as a global epidemic, affecting more than 20 million Americans and more than 230 million people worldwide.
   To that end, Novo Nordisk, a health care company that specializes in diabetes research and care, in cooperation with the American Diabetes Foundation, is lobbying the United Nations to pass a resolution to recognize this growing epidemic in a formal recognition day.
   The year-long campaign, which will allow anyone who would like to sign a U.N. resolution to log on to a special Web site, will launch with more than 2,500 company employees and friends across the United States all walking during the same time period today.
   The campaign will end on Nov. 14, 2007, with potentially enough signatures to command the attention of a formal U.N. resolution.
   Currently, the United Nations recognizes only three health problems with special-interest days: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and mental health.
   Novo Nordisk has also launched a targeted focus project on the needs of children, youth and their families. The study will result in a special report documenting the issues faced by children with diabetes in countries around the world and a global initiative to lead efforts to change the lives of children with diabetes.