Diabetes is responsible for over three million deaths worldwide every year and is likely to affect about six percent of the global population by 2025. The warning came ahead of the 19th World Diabetes Congress to be held in Cape Town, South Africa.

There are currently 240 million people with diabetes worldwide. By 2025, 80 percent of people with the disease will live in developing countries. The conference, organized by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), has the potential to influence health authorities to make the fight against diabetes a higher priority. Raising awareness of the seriousness of diabetes is fundamental because of the considerable burden that diabetes exerts on often limited health resources. Rapid cultural and social changes are resulting in an increase in the numbers of people with and at risk of type 2 diabetes. Examples of these changes are growing urbanization and the adoption of unhealthy lifestyles.

Type 2 diabetes now accounts for approximately 85 percent to 95 percent of all diabetes cases in developing countries. The cases of pre-diabetes are more than twice that of diabetes in the African Region. Diabetes will be the pandemic of this century. The United Nations resolution launched a campaign on diabetes calling on individual countries to adopt national diabetes programs. The event will attract more than 10,000 medical experts, enlighten them with discussions of the latest scientific advances in the field, and offer practical information on diabetes care, advocacy and awareness.

Wal-Mart Stores planned to offer generic prescription medicines at $ 4 for a 30-day supply, regardless of insurance. This was slated as a test run, in Tampa, FL, before taking the program nationwide, sometime next year. The reduced price represents a 67 percent savings over the normal retail price of the drugs.

By cutting the cost of many generic drugs to $ 4, Wal-Mart hopes to ensure that customers and associates get the medicines they need at a price they can afford. "That's a real solution for our nation's working families," says H. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart president and chief executive officer. Wal-Mart designed this program to dramatically change the way health care is provided in this country. The numbers don't lie: generic medications cost an average of nearly $30 and the average brand-name fix runs about $100. With resounding interest in the concept, Wal-Mart decided to roll out its $4 generic prescription program in Florida beginning Friday, October 6, 2006 -- nearly four months earlier than expected.

Two of my favorite things in symphony: Wal-Mart and Florida. Wal-Mart is my guilty pleasure. I'll spend hours browsing the isles and the faces. I love Florida. Really, I do. No state tax, great highways, warm winters, Disney. And now this! By the way, you know how they say imitation is the highest form of flattery? Well, Target plans to match Wal-Mart's $4 drug program. I guess everybody will have to jump on the generic drug rollback bandwagon.