By Anselma Aimable
Caribbean Net News St Lucia Correspondent
Email: anselma@caribbeannetnews.com

CASTRIES, St Lucia: On Friday, Government House in St Lucia will be one of over 200 landmarks all over the world that will be lit up in blue, to mark World Diabetes Day. Government House, like many of the world's iconic buildings and sites, will light up the Castries skyline in the blue colour of the diabetes circle, the global symbol for diabetes.

"We choose Government House because of its location and it's a building that is familiar to St Lucians," according to the Chief Executive Officer of the St Lucia Diabetes and Hypertensive Association (SLDHA), George Eugene. "We are most grateful to Dame Pearlette Louisy, for agreeing to have her official residence lit up as part of this worldwide campaign. We at the SLDHA believe that it will send a strong message to the rest of the nation that our Head of State is supportive of our efforts in fighting the ignorance about Diabetes."

In addition to Government House on Morne Fortune, the SLHDA is planning a light-up ceremony at the Castries City Hall, the Castries Market and Bideau Park. The Association wishes to encourage all St Lucians to light-up blue at their homes to show personal support for the International diabetes campaign.

The light-up event is one of several events planned for the National Diabetes Awareness Month in November. The SLDHA is working with the Ministry of Communications and Works to do the lighting and with several other agencies and sponsors for the success of the month.

The Empire State Building , one of New York's most famous landmarks, was the first building in 2006 to join the World Diabetes Day campaign and to agree to light up in blue. Since then the campaign has been joined by some of the world's most famous landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House, the London Eye, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Tokyo Tower, Niagara Falls, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the Aleppo Citadel in Syria, the Obelisk in Buenos Aires, the Sears Tower in Chicago, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, and the building currently considered the world's tallest: the Taipei 101 Tower in Taiwan.

Professor Martin Silink, President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the organization that leads the World Diabetes Day campaign explained the significance of the lightings: "These buildings are lighting up as beacons of hope for the 246 million people living with diabetes worldwide. The illumination of so many landmarks is a prominent statement to governments everywhere: the global diabetes epidemic can no longer be ignored."

Today, 246 million people live with diabetes globally. If nothing is done, this figure will reach 380 million within 20 years. The observance of World Diabetes Day is a call to action by governments to implement national policies for the prevention, care and treatment of diabetes in line with the sustainable development of their healthcare systems; and for individuals to increase their knowledge about the disease while changing their eating and lifestyles habits to prevent the onset of diabetes.

Diabetes is the only non-communicable disease that has been recognized as posing as serious a global health threat as infectious epidemics like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.