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Alliance Health Networks Joins International Effort to Increase Diabetes Awareness through the Blue Circle Campaign

New guide offers practical tips to achieve healthier lifestyles

November 1, 2011

Alliance Health Networks, a leading developer of social networks in health, announced today that they will be joining health leaders across the world in promoting the International Diabetes Federation’s (IDF) Blue Circle as the universal symbol for diabetes.

According to the World Health Organization, 347 million people worldwide have diabetes and approximately 3 million people die from consequences of high blood sugar and diabetes each year – a number expected to double by 2030. Diabetes is the only non-communicable disease acknowledged by the United Nations as a global epidemic and November is Diabetes Awareness Month.

"Diabetes is causing a global health crisis. However, through awareness, education, access to high-quality care and medications and healthy lifestyle choices, it can be mitigated,” said Amy Tenderich, vice president of patient advocacy at Alliance Health. “By rallying various advocacy organizations behind a single, recognizable icon, we can raise awareness of diabetes worldwide together, sharing a unified message.”

The Blue Circle for diabetes was introduced by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2006 when the first-ever UN Resolution on diabetes was signed. The circle aimed "to signify unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes pandemic.” While this symbol has been widely adopted elsewhere in the world, here in the U.S., the three major advocacy organizations representing diabetes patients have largely ignored it. They use a variety of their own icons instead.

Alliance Health is calling on the diabetes community to contact these organizations – the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) – to support the Blue Circle as the international symbol of diabetes. Like the pink ribbon for breast cancer, this single, recognizable symbol can unite and empower advocacy efforts.

DiabeticConnect.com, a social network for people with diabetes and their caregivers, is providing ready-made postcards that can easily be printed out and mailed to these organizations. There is also an online petition to sign, which has a goal to gather thousands of signatures.

Alliance Health focuses on building a scalable technology platform to support a wide array of health-related social networks, each focused on specific health interests. Its largest network is Diabetic Connect. With more than 600,000 members, it empowers people living with diabetes to engage in conversations, share treatment experiences and comment on services and products. Earlier this year, the company acquired Diabetes Mine, Tenderich’s award-winning diabetes blog, which launched a major refresh today.

To learn more about Diabetes Awareness Month and the Blue Circle Campaign, please visit Diabetic Connect.

About Alliance Health Networks
Alliance Health Networks is an innovative social networking company whose mission is to improve health outcomes, lower costs and facilitate a more consumer-centric healthcare industry. The company owns and operates a growing portfolio of distinct social networking sites that today serve nearly one million members across more than 40 health conditions. Investors in Alliance Health Networks include New World Ventures, Physic Ventures, Highway 12 Ventures and EPIC Ventures. For more information, visit www.AllianceHealth.com.

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