Several landmarks related to diabetes are being marked this year. This is the eightieth anniversary of the discovery of insulin by Frederick Banting and Charles Best. This year is also the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of the Americas on Diabetes (DOTA), which the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and other partners established to promote better health for people affected by diabetes in the Region of the Americas. November of this year is particularly notable. World Diabetes Day is celebrated on 14 November, which was Frederick Banting’s birthday. As one part of commemorating these various events, PAHO is proud to dedicate this special issue of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health to the subject of diabetes in the Americas.

Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions around the world. It is estimated that the number of people with diabetes in the Region of the Americas will increase by 83% over the next 25 years. In the Region approximately one-third of the people with diabetes are undiagnosed, and half of the people newly diagnosed with diabetes are already affected by chronic complications at the time of their diagnosis. People with diabetes are 13 times more likely to have lower-limb amputations than are those without diabetes. More than 20% of people with type 2 diabetes are affected by diabetic retinopathy, and about 5% of them are legally blind.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) there is limited information on the quality of diabetes care...