D-Foot International will hold Healthy Steps 2026, a day of online sessions on diabetic foot prevention and care, on Sunday 15 November, the day after World Diabetes Day. The programme, published by D-Foot on 14 October and updated on 27 October, runs eight 90-minute regional sessions from 08:00 to 20:00 Central European Time (CET). Three of them are aimed squarely at clinicians in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Registration is through Zoom webinar links on D-Foot’s event page, with one link covering each pair of regional sessions. The organisers have not published a fee. Each session opens with a message from D-Foot president Harikrishna K.R. Nair.
South-East Asia session: India and the Maldives
The SEA session runs from 09:30 to 11:00 CET (14:00 to 15:30 in India). It is chaired by Dr Milind G Ruke, with Dr Vijay Viswanathan as co-chair. Dr Ruke will speak on biofilms in the diabetic foot, Dr Viswanathan on preventing diabetic foot problems according to IWGDF guidance, and Dr Sanjay Madhusudan Vaidya on advanced modalities for managing the diabetic foot. Prof Dr Mohammad Waheed of the Maldives will cover debridement.
Africa session
The Africa session runs from 11:00 to 12:30 CET (14:00 to 15:30 in Dubai, 12:00 in Johannesburg and 11:00 in Lagos). Zulfiqarali G. Abbas chairs, with Maimouna Mbaye on the panel. Felicia Annuma of Nigeria and Johlene Sander of South Africa will both address the need for diabetes and diabetes-related foot complication education in Africa. Mohamed Sharkawy of Egypt will ask whether detecting and correcting the factors that delay ulcer healing is crucial for limb salvage, and Dr Aloys Tuyizere will present on meeting diabetes care goals at tertiary hospitals in Rwanda.
MENA session
The MENA session is chaired by Salma Khureibat. Dr Jamil Halabi of Lebanon will present “3 Min to Save a Foot”, a nationwide campaign, and Lujain Alasfour of Kuwait will discuss the psychological impact on wound healing in people with diabetes-related foot ulcers.
There is a timing discrepancy to note. D-Foot’s schedule table lists the MENA session at 12:30 to 14:00 CET (15:30 to 17:00 in Dubai), but the session poster gives 11:00 to 12:30 CET, the same slot as Africa. The two sessions share a registration link, so delegates should check the time in their confirmation email.
A Global Meet follows from 14:00 to 15:30 CET, before the Europe, North America and Caribbean, and South and Central America sessions later in the day.
IMEA POD Perspective
Most international diabetic foot education is timed for European or American audiences. Healthy Steps puts its South Asian, African and Middle Eastern sessions in the afternoon for India and the Gulf, and fills them with speakers from the region, which makes it easy for a whole clinic team to watch together on a Sunday. The topics are worth noting too: alongside debridement and biofilms, there are talks on patient education, psychology and a short, repeatable foot check that can be scaled nationally. Those are the gaps that most often decide whether an ulcer is caught early. For podiatrists, nurses and doctors who mark World Diabetes Day with screening events, the sessions offer ready-made material to take back into local campaigns. We would encourage teams across IMEA to register, compare notes with colleagues in neighbouring countries, and tell us what they take from it.
Read more: World Diabetes Day 2026: Why Early Action Must Include the Feet and IWGDF 2027 Guidelines: What Foot Teams Should Expect Before The Hague.
Sources and further reading
- D-Foot International: Healthy Steps 2026 programme and registration
- D-Foot International: SEA Region session poster
- D-Foot International: Africa Region session poster
- D-Foot International: MENA Region session poster