This letter requests that President Obama attend the upcoming UN High-Level Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in September to address the growing global epidemic of diabetes and other NCDs. It outlines that NCDs such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease kill over 35 million people annually. The letter emphasizes that diabetes alone affects over 300 million people worldwide and costs $378 billion in healthcare spending each year. It urges the President to champion solutions to address NCD prevention, access to treatment, and establish partnerships to coordinate a global response to this critical health issue.

1. August
2,
2011
President
Barack
Obama
The
White
House
1600
Pennsylvania
Ave
NW
Washington,
DC
20500
Dear
Mr.
President:
We,
the
undersigned
organizations
and
individuals,
request
that
you
attend
the
United
Nations
High-­‐Level
Summit
on
Non-­‐Communicable
Diseases
(NCD)
in
September
to
push
for
better
health
for
all
of
those
living
with
diabetes.
This
September,
you
and
your
fellow
political
leaders
will
have
a
once-­in-­a-­generation
opportunity
to
halt
a
global
epidemic
that
is
killing
and
disabling
millions
of
people,
impoverishing
families,
and
undermining
economic
progress.
The
UN
NCD
Summit
is
a
chance
for
the
Government
of
the
United
States
of
America
to
play
a
leading
global
role
in
confronting
this
major
threat
to
the
health,
prosperity
and
security
of
all
of
us
and
future
generations.
Together,
the
four
major
NCDs
–
diabetes,
cancer,
heart
disease
and
chronic
respiratory
disease
–
are
the
world’s
number
one
killer.
It
is
estimated
that
some
35
million
people
die
from
NCDs
each
year,
and
14
million
of
these
deaths
could
be
averted
or
delayed.
Diabetes
alone
creates
a
huge
burden
-­‐
over
300
million
people
worldwide
have
diabetes
now,
and
that
figure
will
reach
half
a
billion
within
a
generation
if
we
do
not
act
now.
One
dollar
in
every
eight
spent
across
the
world
on
healthcare
last
year
went
on
diabetes
–
a
staggering
USD378
billion
in
total.
No
country
rich
or
poor
is
immune
from
the
impact.
In
the
US
alone,
there
are
25.8
million
people
with
diabetes,
and
the
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention
estimate
that
by
2050,
US
prevalence
will
rise
to
as
many
as
one
in
three
Americans.
EVERY
one
of
us
knows
someone
touched
by
diabetes.
As
a
group
of
committed
diabetes
advocates,
we
ask
you
to
attend
the
UN
Summit
and
work
with
other
political
leaders
to
take
action.
We
have
attached
the
NCD
Alliance’s1
proposals
for
the
Summit
outcomes,
which
we
believe
should
be
the
basis
of
the
political
response
to
NCDs.
The
global
failure
to
invest
in
NCDs
has
led
to
the
current
crisis,
yet
we
have
cost-­‐effective
solutions
that
can
save
lives
and
make
economic
sense.
These
include
action
on
prevention
and
diagnosis
as
well
as
universal
access
to
affordable,
high-­‐quality
essential
medicines
and
medical
technologies.
We
are
also
calling
for
the
establishment
of
a
Stop
NCDs
partnership
to
lead
multi-­‐
sectoral
and
coordinated
action,
and
a
UN
Decade
of
Action
on
NCDs
to
implement
the
commitments
governments
will
make
at
the
UN
Summit
in
New
York.
We
would
be
pleased
to
provide
your
office
with
any
further
information
in
preparation
for
the
UN
Summit.
NCDs
such
as
diabetes
affect
us
all.
Diabetes
increasingly
strikes
children,
threatening
international
economic
progress.
But
we
are
not
powerless.
We
have
achievable
cost-­‐effective
solutions.
We
need
political
leadership
now
to
make
them
a
reality.
Please
be
a
champion
for
Non-­Communicable
Diseases
by
attending
the
UN
Summit
in
September
and
safeguard
the
health
and
prosperity
of
future
generations
in
the
US
and
around
the
world.
Yours
sincerely,
Kelly
Close
(diaTribe)
Research
&
product
news
for
15,000+
people
with
diabetes
Manny
Hernandez
(Diabetes
Hands
Foundation)
Serving
200,000
people
with
diabetes
every
month
1
The
NCD
Alliance
comprises
the
International
Diabetes
Federation,
the
International
Union
Against
TB
and
Lung
Disease,
the
Union
for
International
Cancer
Control,
and
the
World
Heart
Federation.
Together
the
NCD
Alliance
represents
900
member
associations
in
170
countries:
www.ncdalliance.org
1

2.
Phil
Southerland
(Team
Type
1)
CEO/Founder
Team
Type
1,
author
of
Not
Dead
Yet,
and
complication
free
after
29
years
with
Type
1
Diabetes
due
to
always
having
had
access
to
insulin
and
testing
supplies.
Bruce
Buckingham,
M.D.
(Stanford
Medical
Center)
Professor,
Pediatrics
-­
Division
of
Endocrinology
and
Diabetes
Jessica
Apple,
Michael
Aviad,
Karmel
Allison
(ASweetLife.org)
Reaching
30,000
People
Affected
by
Diabetes
Each
Month
David
Edelman,
Elizabeth
Edelman
(DiabetesDaily.com)
A
diabetes
community
reaching
300,000
each
month.
Francine
R.
Kaufman,
M.D.
(Childrens
Hospital
Los
Angeles)
Emeritus
Professor
of
Pediatrics
and
Communications
at
USC
-­
The
Center
for
Diabetes,
Endocrinology
&
Metabolism
Amy
Tenderich
(DiabetesMine)
A
leading
diabetes
blog
serving
50,000
readers
a
month
Riva
Greenberg
(the
Huffington
Post
and
DiabetesStories.com)
Reaching
more
than
150,000
diabetes
patients,
professionals
and
readers
each
month
Paula
Ford-­Martin
(dLife)
Editor-­in-­Chief,
Patient
Advocate,
Author
2

3.
Zachary
T.
Bloomgarden,
MD
(www.jdiabetes.com)
Editor,
the
Journal
of
Diabetes
Sheri
Colberg,
PhD
(www.shericolberg.com)
Expert
on
diabetes
and
exercise,
author
of
8
books
on
lifestyle
and
diabetes
management
Sarah
Knotts
–
Insulin,
Glucose,
Test
Strip
Stories
Sharing
real
stories
of
living
with
Type
1
Diabetes
since
1988.
William
“Lee”
Dubois,
Diabetes
Author,
Educator,
&
Advocate
Reaching
more
than
3
million
people
a
month
via
columns
and
articles
Sandra
Bourdette
(Taking
Control
Of
Your
Diabetes)
Co-­Founder
and
Executive
Director,
Educating
and
empowering
the
diabetes
community
since
1995
Irl
B.
Hirsch,
M.D.
(University
of
Washington
Med
Ctr-­Roosevelt)
Professor
of
Medicine
Neal
Kaufman,
M.D.,
M.P.H.
(UCLA
Schools
of
Medicine
and
Public
Health)
Professor
of
Pediatrics
and
Public
Health
3

4.
Tom
Karlya
(Diabetesdad)
Columnist
at
dLife,
1
million+
people
with
diabetes
Lois
Jovanovič,
MD
(Sansum
Diabetes
Research
Institute)
CEO
&
Chief
Scientific
Officer
James
S.
Hirsch
Author
of
"Cheating
Destiny:
Living
with
Diabetes"
Bernard
Farrell
(Diaboogle.com
and
Diabetes
Technology
Blog)
Diabetes
answers
for
1,000
people
per
month
and
reviewing
technology
for
3,000
readers/month.
Scott
K.
Johnson
(scottsdiabetes.com)
Diabetes
blog
reaching
thousands
per
month
George
Simmons
(Ninjabetic)
Sharing
my
story
so
others
feel
less
alone.
Randolph
B.
Linde,
M.D.
(Endocrinologist)
Palo
Alto
Medical
Foundation
4

5.
Brandy
Barnes
(www.DiabetesSisters.org)
a
national
nonprofit
organization
devoted
to
the
issues
faced
by
women
with
diabetes)
and
a
woman
who
has
lived
with
diabetes
for
more
than
21
years.
Kelly
Booth
(kellywpa.wordpress.com)
Helping
people
with
diabetes
complications
Kerri
Sparling
(SixUntilMe.com)
Patient
Blogger,
Diabetes
Advocate,
and
Living
with
Type
1
Diabetes
Howard
Zisser,
MD
(Sansum
Diabetes
Research
Institute)
Director
of
Clinical
Research
and
Diabetes
Technology
Bruce
W.
Bode
MD
FACE
Atlanta
Diabetes
Associate
Michael
W.
Hoskins
(The
Diabetic's
Corner
Booth)
Personal
blog
reaching
5,500
globally
each
month.
Karen
Graffeo
(BitterSweetDiabetes.com)
Patient
blog
reaching
several
hundred
subscribers
Gina
Capone
(DiabetesTalkfest.com,
Juvenation.org)
Patient
blogger
and
community
manager
reaching
over
19,000+
affected
by
diabetes.
5

6.
Crystal
Lane
(Randomly
capitalizeD)
Diabetes
Advocate
letting
hundreds
know
they
are
not
alone
Scott
Strange
(StrangelyDiabetic.com)
Sharing
decades
of
diabetes
trials
and
tribulations
Lorraine
Sisto
(This
is
Caleb...)
Daily
readers
in
excess
of
500.
Wendy
K.
Rose,
RN
(www.CandyHeartsBlog.com)
Diabetes
Advocate
Aliza
Chana
Zaleon
(Aliza
With
Diabetes)
1,000+
readers
and
counting
Michael
W.
Durbin
(www.mydiabeticheart.com)
Diabetes
Advocate,
living
with
Type
2
Diabetes
and
Congestive
Heart
Failure
Kim
Vlasnik
(Texting
My
Pancreas;
You
Can
Do
This
Project)
Reaching
12,000+
people
with
diabetes
every
month
Mari
Ruddy
(Team
WILD
and
Red
Rider
Recognition
Program
Founder)
Representing
over
5,000
cyclists
and
athletes
with
diabetes
6

7. Scott
Strumello
(Scott's
Web
Log)
A
Patient-­Written
Blog
Reaching
An
Average
of
2,500
Visitors
Per
Month
Lahle
Wolfe
(Isletsofhope.com,
Pre-­Diabetes.com)
7.9
million
visitors
since
2005,
10,000+
subscribers
Bill
Woods
(1HappyDiabetic.com)
“It’s
All
About
Your
Attitude!”
Martin
Wood
(DiabeticallySpeaking.com)
Type
1
diabetes
blogger
and
advocate.
Sharing
my
life
with
diabetes
so
that
others
may
have
a
voice.
Chris
Stocker
(The
Life
of
a
Diabetic)
Reaching
1,000's
of
people
with
diabetes
every
day!
Naomi
Kingery,
The
Diabetic
Diva
(www.livetolovediabetes.com)
Author
and
blogger
who
has
reached
over
10,000
people
with
diabetes.
Victoria
Cumbow
(www.victoriacumbow.com)
Type
1
diabetic
for
18
years,
advocate,
patient
and
health
blogger
at
Dia-­Beat-­This
and
@victoriacumbow
Hallie
K.
Addington
(The
Princess
and
The
Pump)
I
am
a
wife,
mother,
teacher…
and
a
pancreas!
7

8.
Kelly
Kunik
(diabetesaliciousness.blogspot.com)
Spreading
Diabetes
Validation
through
Humor,Ownership
&
Advocacy
Elissa
R.
Weitzman,
ScD,
MSc
Assistant
Professor
Harvard
Medical
School
|
Children’s
Hospital
Boston
Cherise
Shockley
(Diabetes
Social
Media
Advocacy)
Diagnosed
with
Latent
Autoimmune
Diabetes
in
Adults
in
June
2004.
Creator
of
Diabetes
Social
Media
Advocacy
(DSMA)
weekly
twitter
chat
and
blog
talk
radio.
Merle
Gleeson
(Type
1
Diabetes
Lounge)
Meri
Schuhmacher
(Our
Diabetic
Life)
Blogger,
advocate,
friend
to
1000+
mothers
and
fathers
of
children
with
diabetes.
Satish
K.
Garg,
MD
(Barbara
Davis
Center
for
Childhood
Diabetes,
University
of
Colorado
Denver)
Professor
of
Medicine
and
Pediatrics;
Director,
Adult
Program;
Clinical
and
Research
Endowed
Chairs
Editor-­in-­Chief,
Diabetes
Technology
and
Theraputics
Beatriz
Dominguez
(Sweet
Bea)
Diabetes
Patient
and
Advocate
Jessica
Collins
(jess-­meandd.blogspot.com)
Diabetes
blogger
and
advocate
8

9.
Allison
Blass
(Lemonade
Life)
A
personal
blog
about
living
with
diabetes
serving
5,000
readers
a
month
Leighann
Calentine
(D-­Mom
Blog)
Mom
of
a
child
with
type
1
diabetes,
author
of
D-­Mom
Blog
reaching
8,000+
families
per
month,
diabetes
advocate.
Hope
Warshaw,
RD,
CDE
(www.hopewarshaw.com)
Diabetes
educator,
author
with
nearly
1
million
books
in
print
Nicolas
Cuttriss,
MD,
MPH
(www.ayudainc.net)
Empowering
youth
to
serve
as
agents
of
change
in
diabetes
communities
abroad
Jane
Jeffrie
Seley,
DNP
MPH
MSN
BC-­ADM
CDE
(New
York
Presbyterian/Weill
Cornell)
Diabetes
Nurse
Practitioner
Barry
H
Ginsberg,
MD,
PhD
Diabetes
Consultants
Prof.
Dr.
Lutz
Heinemann,
PhD
(Profil
Institut
für
Stoffwechselforschung
GmbH)
Partner
and
Scientific
Consultant
[Signature
On
File]
Jay
Skyler,
MD
(University
of
Miami
Miller
School
of
Medicine,
Diabetes
Research
Institute)
Professor
of
Medicine,
Pediatrics
and
Psychology
at
Associate
Director
for
Academic
Programs
at
DRI
[Signature
On
File]
Darrell
M
Wilson,
MD
(Stanford
University
and
the
Lucile
Packard
Children's
Hospital)
Professor
and
Chief,
Pediatric
Endocrinology
and
Diabetes
[Signature
On
File]
Ginger
Vieira
(www.Living-­in-­Progress.com)
9

10. Type
1
diabetes
advocate,
vlogger,
author
and
health
coach.
[Signature
On
File]
Lee
Ann
Thill,
MA,
ATR-­BC,
LPC
(www.thebuttercompartment.com)
Type1
diabetic
for
32
yrs,
blogger,
art
therapist,
diabetes/mental
health
advocate,
artist.
[Signature
On
File]
Mariela
Glandt,
MD
Endocrinology
Department,
Bronx-­Lebanon
Hospital
[Signature
On
File]
Gonzalo
Bacigalupe,
EdD,
MPH
International
Health
Council
Representative
at
,
Ikerbasque
Research
Professor,
Associate
Editor
at
Family,
Systems,
&
Health
[Signature
On
File]
Sysy
Morales
(TheGirlsGuidetoDiabetes.com)
Encouraging
10,000
women
with
diabetes
to
live
their
best
life
every
month
[Signature
On
File]
Kitty
Castellini,
Founder,
President
&
CEO
(Diabetes
Living
Today®)
National
Broadcast
News
on
Diabetes
for
120,000
with
diabetes
[Signature
On
File]
Kathy
White
(kathy-­mynewislets.blogspot.com)
Islet
cell
transplant
recipient
[Signature
On
File]
Anne
Findlay
(annetics,
Team
Type
1
cyclist)
Advocating
for
healthier
living
through
exercise
for
people
with
diabetes
[Signature
On
File]
Gretchen
Becker
(www.gretchenbecker.com)
Author
of
"The
First
Year:
Type
2
Diabetes"
[Signature
On
File]
Cheryl
Alkon
Author
of
Balancing
Pregnancy
With
Pre-­Existing
Diabetes:
Healthy
Mom,
Healthy
Baby
[Signature
On
File]
Ronnie
Gregory
(www.thepoordiabetic.com)
[Signature
On
File]
Erin
D.
O'Neill
Argueta
(www.edonadesigns.blogspot.com)
Living
creatively
for
over
39
years
with
Type
I
Diabetes
[Signature
On
File]
Cara
Richardson
(countrygirldiabetic.blogspot.com)
Every
Day,
Every
Hour,
Every
Minute
[Signature
On
File]
Cheri
Pate
(princessladybug.blogspot.com)
[Signature
On
File]
Michael
Robinton
(Insulin
Pumpers)
Executive
Director
10