The public is being encouraged to wear blue on Friday in solidarity of World Diabetes Day.

“On Friday, as we know, it’s World Diabetes Day and we have also come up with Go Blue. So, we have sent out letters to schools, business places asking them for their support by allowing their employees, allowing students and teachers alike to wear blue on Friday in support of that. Also, it’s media day so we will have persons from the Association on the media speaking more about diabetes, speaking more about what we plan to do,” Marina Claxton-Brown, PRO of the Antigua and Barbuda Diabetes Association explained.

This year’s theme is ‘Diabetes in the Workplace’ and the Association is hoping to focus on improving wellness in businesses.

“When you speak to individual’s one-on-one, some persons are receiving fantastic support, other persons need additional support and what we also find is that some employees are a bit hesitant or afraid to speak out and request what they need.

“There’s often as well a certain stigma that is attached to persons living with diabetes and I think what we really are trying to do for this week of activities is encourage persons to have that conversation to ensure that we are meeting people where they are at and a part of that is going to be workplace wellness programs.

“I think one of the places that, if I’m being quite honest, that we falter in Antigua and Barbuda is that we don’t have a lot of standardized workplace wellness programs being implemented, a lot of clear workplace wellness programs being implemented. So, I think that this is something that a lot of employees can, employers rather, workplaces can work towards because we know that if we have healthier employees, we’re able to have more productive workspaces,” President of the association Charity Dublin explained.

They are encouraging persons who have been diagnosed to act.

“Diabetes is not a death sentence, support is out there, you can contact us at theAntigua and Barbuda Diabetes Association and we also have a slew of partners who are on board with us, the Ministry of Health, the Medical Benefits Scheme, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Lions Club, the APOA, the National Public Library, the Ministry of Works, Moss Medical and the Surless, the Byrd Medical Center and all of these persons are on board, ready, willing and able to support persons living with diabetes,” Dublin added.

The association has a string of other activities on the cards to celebrate the day.

On Saturday November 15, they will worship at the St. John’s Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

“It’s the first, no, but it’s the first because we recognize that over the years, we have always been going to Sunday church and we do have Adventists within our midst and so we only found it fitting that we should give them a bit of what other persons were,” Claxton-Browne added.

On November 18, Screening Day will take place at the Minister of Public Works.

“And what I can add here as well is for the general public, we are partnering with Moss Medical Services, they are having a diabetes health fair which is looking at persons who are at risk for developing diabetes and to be honest, many of us, and I say us, are at risk for developing diabetes and persons who have been diagnosed with diabetes and we’re inviting persons, the general public, to come out there, that is going to be on the 26th of November at MossMedical Centre on Old Parham Road,” Claxton Browne said.