Message from Dr. Mary Jung on World Diabetes Day
World Diabetes Day 2026: Early Action on Diabetes
Every year on November 14, World Diabetes Day brings global attention to diabetes and its impact on individuals, families, communities and health systems. This year’s theme, “Early action on diabetes,” highlights the importance of understanding and reducing diabetes risk, supporting early diagnosis, and taking evidence-informed action to prevent or delay diabetes and its progression.
It is estimated that 10% of Canadians live with diagnosed diabetes, a figure that climbs to 15% when cases of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes are included. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 29% (nearly three in ten) of Canadian adults living with diabetes remain undiagnosed. Globally, up to 50% of people diagnosed with T2D already have complications at the time of diagnosis, highlighting the significant consequences of delayed detection. These complications can include cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, vision loss and nerve damage, underscoring the importance of earlier risk identification, diagnosis and intervention.
CIHR is proud to fund outstanding investigators and teams whose diabetes research demonstrates how early action can take place across multiple levels, from risk detection and screening to Indigenous-led and community-based prevention, lifestyle-based risk reduction, and policy and health-system readiness. Below are examples of research funded by CIHR and our partners through the initiative 100 Years of Insulin: Accelerating Canadian Discoveries to Defeat Diabetes:
Advancing Indigneous-led and community-based prevention
Prevention approaches are more effective when they are grounded in the knowledge, priorities and strengths of communities. Dr. Sarah Oosman and colleagues are working with First Nations and Métis communities in Saskatchewan through the Strong Bodies, Spirits, Minds, and Voices research project, to co-create culturally grounded approaches to preventing pediatric type 2 diabetes (T2D). Dr. Lucie Lévesque and colleagues are also advancing community-driven T2D prevention through Seven Generations thinking and a Community-to-Community (C2C) mentorship model that builds on strengths and resilience. The program uses mentorship among Indigenous communities that is based in a Haudenosaunee Two Row Wampum perspective, with consideration for a diversity of genders, to share and adapt C2C mentorship-driven approaches to T2D prevention.
Identifying diabetes risk early
Early identification of diabetes creates opportunities to act before serious symptoms or complications develop. Dr. Diane Wherrett leads the Canadian Population Screening for Risk of Type 1 Diabetes Research Consortium (CanScreen T1D) which advances population-based approaches to type 1 diabetes (T1D) screening. The goal is to identify children at risk of developing T1D before clinical diagnosis and enable earlier monitoring and intervention. Ultimately screening will prevent diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially life-threatening complication of undiagnosed T1D. Dr. Brandy Wicklow and colleagues are studying early metabolic and kidney changes in children at increased risk of T2D, to inform earlier screening and personalized strategies to prevent disease and its complications.
Reducing risk through lifestyle interventions
The Netherlands-Canada TIMED Consortium, co-led in Canada by Dr. André Carpentier, is examining how the timing of lifestyle behaviours interacts with the body’s natural 24-hour metabolic rhythms. The research aims to optimize lifestyle interventions and develop more effective approaches to prevent T2D. Dr. Mary Jung and colleagues are evaluating Small Steps for Big Changes, a diet and exercise counselling intervention designed to significantly reduce the risk of developing T2D. Designed for feasible, scalable and sustainable delivery in community settings, the program is being implemented with YMCA partners across Canada and at a site in Australia to expand access to diabetes prevention, particularly among underserved, at-risk populations.
Building policy and health-system readiness
Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta and colleagues are laying the groundwork for a diabetes prevention and remission program in Quebec. Their work examines the legal, health-system and economic considerations involved in identifying people with prediabetes or early T2D and connecting them to evidence-based interventions, helping to inform how prevention could be implemented at scale.
By continuing to support research that identifies diabetes risk earlier, strengthens prevention and enables timely and culturally appropriate intervention, including policy interventions, CIHR and our partners can help translate knowledge into action to prevent or delay diabetes and, where possible, slow its progression. Our goal is to curb the rising prevalence of diabetes and its complications and meaningfully improve health outcomes for people and communities across Canada.
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