site.btaWorld Diabetes Day Marked with Free Screenings, Consultations, Health Campaigns

Free consultations, blood sugar testing, and health talks are among the initiatives taking place across Bulgaria on Friday to mark World Diabetes Day, November 14.  

Diabetes is a serious chronic illness that causes very severe and dangerous complications but often remains neglected or undiagnosed in time due to a lack of prevention and regular screening, Sofia's Acibadem City Clinic Tokuda University Hospital said. The hospital is offering free blood sugar testing and consultations on Friday for patients and visitors. The initiative will take place from 9:00 to 12:00 in the hospital’s central lobby. Under the motto “Together Against Diabetes,” free blood sugar testing and consultations will also be offered at Acibadem City Clinic Vitosha University Hospital.

Free consultations for people with diabetes or at risk of diabetes will also be provided at Tsaritsa Yoanna University Hospital. These consultations will be available in Room 214 from 11:00 to 17:00, without the need for prior appointment.

Regional branches of the Bulgarian Association of Healthcare Professionals in the cities of Shumen, Vratsa, Pleven, Yambol, Varna, and Veliko Tarnovo are organizing blood sugar testing points, the association said. 

In kindergartens, health talks will be held for children in the pre-school groups, with topics presented through games, examples, and short stories aimed at building healthy habits and awareness. Schools will also host health talks and presentations for students of various age groups. Information boards in kindergartens and schools will be updated with materials for parents, teachers, and staff.

A National Meeting entitled “Diabetes Doesn’t Stop Us” will take place on 15 November, where patients will mark World Diabetes Day. The event is organized by the association “Culture Without Borders” and will feature paediatric endocrinologists specializing in type 1 diabetes, social workers, and others. Topics such as insulin pumps, glucose sensors, closed-loop systems, and the challenges faced by teenagers with diabetes will be discussed.

Worldwide, 589 million adults are affected by diabetes, the Bulgarian Society of Endocrinology reported. Nearly half of them do not know they have the condition. More than half a million people in Bulgaria are affected.

In October, Sofia Municipality announced that it is organizing specialized training for nurses and teachers working in kindergartens, focused on caring for children with diabetes and glycaemic control.

The risk of prediabetes increases with age, but more than 200,000 Bulgarian men and women of reproductive age are in a prediabetic condition, endocrinologist Prof. Anna-Maria Borisova said recently. The second major risk factor is obesity, she added, noting that over 68% of Bulgarians are overweight and half of them are obese.

At the end of September 2025, during the discussion “(Un?)Beatable Pandemics – Obesity,” politicians and doctors expressed support for creating a National Programme for Combating Obesity.