Bronx leaders call on city to declare diabetes a public health emergency

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson joined health advocates and community leaders on April 30 to call on New York City to declare a Diabetes Health Emergency and implement a Citywide Diabetes Reduction Plan, citing the disease’s devastating toll on poor and minority communities and the need for a diabetes prevention program, especially in the Bronx.

Gibson spoke at a Diabetes Action Summit held at BronxCare Hospital, co-hosted by her office and Health People, a Bronx-based nonprofit focused on health equity. The summit brought renewed urgency to the city’s diabetes crisis, which affects an estimated 1 million residents and has led to a sharp rise in diabetes-related complications, including lower-limb amputations and dialysis.

“Diabetes is not just a health issue — it’s a crisis that is devastating families and disproportionately impacting our Black, Brown, and low-income communities, especially here in the Bronx,” Gibson said. “We are sounding the alarm and calling on New York City to declare a Diabetes Health Emergency and implement a comprehensive, Citywide Diabetes Reduction Plan. This is a moment for bold leadership. The cost of inaction is too high — in lives lost, limbs amputated, and billions of dollars drained from our healthcare system. We cannot afford to wait. The time to act is now.”

The summit highlighted a proposal to secure a Medicaid waiver that would allow public funds to cover community-based diabetes prevention training—an approach supporters say would reduce healthcare costs and save thousands of lives. The waiver would permit Medicaid to cover the cost of training residents as to how to lower their blood sugar levels—thereby reducing the skyrocketing number of amputations and preventative deaths.

Chris Norwood, founder of Health People, praised Gibson for spotlighting the devastating impact of diabetes in the Bronx. Health People, prior to funding cuts when the pandemic struck, had successfully administered a Diabetes Self-Management Program to 2,000 Bronx residents across NYCHA developments, homeless shelters, and other community sites.

“A diabetes health emergency has existed for decades, and it is time for the city to declare what are already facts on the ground throughout the Bronx and the rest of the city,” Norwood said. “We could save billions of tax dollars while saving lives with focused diabetes initiatives. Nothing saves more than proven diabetes education that helps people avoid terrible complications like dialysis and amputations just as nothing costs more than diabetes which has been allowed to get out of control the way it has in New York. Leadership on this issue is essential.”

Attendees listen during the Diabetes Action Summit at BronxCare Hospital, where health advocates and community leaders gathered to address the growing diabetes crisis in New York City. Courtesy of Borough President Vanessa Gibson’s office

Among the speakers was hip hop pioneer Doctor Dré, who shared his personal struggle with diabetes. Dré lost both his eyesight and his right leg to complications from the disease.