In collaboration with the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) Novo Nordisk has today launched a training manual specific to the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes care for children in developing countries. Unveiled on the opening day of the ISPAD Congress 'ISPAD 2010', which is currently taking place in Buenos Aires, this first edition of the manual is available for download at www.changingdiabetesaccess.com.

"We at Novo Nordisk are proud to have played a role in the development of this manual. It is a great privilege to be able to unveil the first edition at ISPAD 2010, where some of the world's most influential paediatric diabetes experts and healthcare professionals meet with a common purpose," says Dr Mapoko Ilondo, senior advisor, Global Health Partnerships, Novo Nordisk.

Childhood diabetes has a high mortality rate in developing countries, where life expectancy for a child with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes is typically less than one year.

Novo Nordisk initiated the Changing Diabetes® in Children (CDiC) programme in 2006, due to the urgent need to improve the conditions for children with diabetes in the world's poorest countries, where access to insulin and monitoring tools as well as knowledgeable healthcare professionals are vital.

In developing countries, many children may either be misdiagnosed, be unable to properly manage the disease or even die before they can be diagnosed. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), an estimated 480,000 children under the age of 15 live with type 1 diabetes worldwide and many of them in developing countries.

Approximately 76,000 children under 15 years develop diabetes each year. (IDF Diabetes Atlas, Fourth Edition, 2009).

For more information about Novo Nordisk, please visit: www.novonordisk.com.

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. We believe that a healthy economy, environment and society are fundamental to long-term value creation. This is why we manage our business in accordance with the Triple Bottom Line business principle and consider the financial, environmental and social impact of our business decisions. The strategic commitment to corporate sustainability has brought the company onto centre stage as a leading player in today's business environment, recognised for its integrated reporting, stakeholder engagement and consistently high sustainability performance.

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