The Co-ordinator of the Diabetes Centre at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Debbie Jones, has been elected one of 12 vice-presidents of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).Mrs. Jones was elected to the position, a first for Bermuda, at the close of the 19th World Diabetes Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa earlier this month.

The IDF is a global advocate for more than 240 million people with diabetes and represents more than 190 diabetes associations in 150 countries.

The mission of the IDF is to promote diabetes care, prevention and to work towards finding a cure and as a non-governmental organisation it is involved in official relations with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

With a laugh Ms Jones explained how long the voting process for the 12 vice-presidents took — many of the members were from communist countries including China and had never voted before.

She explained that they had to be taught how to use the electronic voting system and in most cases, it had to be explained in four languages.

In her new voluntary position, Ms Jones will be chairing a disaster committee and will be working with WHO to make chronic disease emergency kits available to people displaced by natural and other disasters.

"In the aftermath of disasters like the Tsunami, Pakistan earthquake and the Lebanon crisis, chronic disease was not something people focused on so no chronic disease emergency kits went out from WHO," she said.

When organisations like The Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF went in to help in the aftermath of these disasters, instead of finding people dying from contaminated water and food, the 80 percent mortality rate was traced to chronic diseases like diabetes.

"Our aim is to work with the WHO in supporting their initiative, raising awareness and making sure that organisations who go in to help in the aftermath of disasters are aware of diabetes, the implications and what to do," she explained.