The World Health Organization (WHO) has a section for non-communicable
diseases, where the public health problems related to diabetes are tr
eated. The WHO has cooperated with the International Diabetes Federati
on for many years. The classification of diabetes and diagnostic crite
ria proposed by its committee is now widely used throughout the world.
Many medical schools, hospitals and institutes have been designated a
s WHO Collaborating Centres, in order to gather and spread information
, to moderate cooperative research and assist educational activities.
In the field of diabetes, about 30 WHO Collaborating Centres were esta
blished. In Japan, one such Centre for Diabetes Treatment and Educatio
n was placed in Kyoto National Hospital. In April 1991, the First Inte
rnational Conference on Health Technology in the field of Diabetes was
held under the auspice of the Centre (Chairman: Dr. Y. Akazawa). The
Centre played a major role in the Japanese national diabetes program,
particularly in the field of epidemiology. It is expected to make good
contributions also to diabetes in other countries especially in Asia.