A diabetic foot declaration signed in Bengaluru has brought eight global organisations together to make limb preservation a world health priority, according to a PTI press release carried by The Tribune on 3 October 2026. The Joint Declaration on Diabetic Foot Survival and Limb Preservation was signed at DFSICON 2026, and the signatories also announced their intent to form a Global Alliance for Diabetic Foot Survival and Limb Preservation.
Who signed the diabetic foot declaration
DFSICON 2026 is the 23rd annual conference of the Diabetic Foot Society of India (DFSI). It ran from 1 to 4 October 2026 at the Hilton Garden Inn Bengaluru, Embassy Manyata Business Park, with about 700 delegates and more than 120 national and international faculty expected. The eight signatories, from four continents, were:
- Diabetic Foot Society of India (DFSI)
- Podiatric Surgeons’ Society
- King’s College Hospital Diabetic Foot Unit, London
- International Association of Diabetic Foot Surgeons (IADFS)
- D-Foot International
- Pan-African Diabetic Foot Study Group (PADFSG)
- American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS)
- International Federation of Podiatrists (FIP-IFP)
What was launched at DFSICON 2026
The conference also launched StrideGPT, an AI assistant for diabetic foot questions, and Wound360, a mobile app that assesses wounds from photos. A coffee table book, A Step Ahead, on footwear and foot health was released, and the PRAIAS nationwide diabetic foot screening initiative was felicitated. The release notes that India has more than 100 million people with diabetes.
What leaders said
Prof. V. B. Narayana Murthy, National President of DFSI, said: “Every stage of diabetic foot disease, from the numb foot to the amputation, is a chance we either take or miss.” Karnataka Health Minister U. T. Khader said: “No one in our state should lose a limb to a complication that could have been prevented.”
Dr. Sanjay Sharma, Organising Secretary of DFSICON 2026, said: “Saving limbs has never been the work of one discipline, and now it will not be the work of one country either.” Organising Treasurer Dr. Pavan Belehalli said: “Technology earns its place only when it reaches the patient.”
Bharat CPO Perspective
The following is Bharat CPO analysis, not a claim made in the press release. The declaration puts amputation prevention on a global agenda and, notably, names limb preservation as a team effort across disciplines. For Indian prosthetists, orthotists and pedorthists, that framing matters: protective footwear, insoles and offloading devices sit between screening and surgery, and they are where CPOs can make a measurable difference to ulcer recurrence and amputation risk.
The release describes an intent to form an alliance rather than a funded programme, and it does not publish the declaration’s text or any binding commitments. Readers should therefore treat the alliance as a signal of direction until detailed commitments appear. With more than 100 million people living with diabetes in India, the practical question for the sector is whether screening tools such as Wound360 and referral pathways will connect to timely, affordable footwear and orthotic care outside major cities.
Frequently asked questions
What is the diabetic foot declaration signed in Bengaluru? It is the Joint Declaration on Diabetic Foot Survival and Limb Preservation, signed by eight organisations at DFSICON 2026.
Will a global alliance be formed? The signatories announced their intent to form a Global Alliance for Diabetic Foot Survival and Limb Preservation.
What is DFSICON? It is the annual conference of the Diabetic Foot Society of India; the 2026 edition was its 23rd.
Suggested hyperlinks / sources
- Source: The Tribune (PTI), Eight global organisations sign joint declaration in Bengaluru
- Preventable amputation-free India by 2047 requires whole-person foot care
- Bharat Limb Centre and CLRI partnership to commercialise diabetic-foot AFO technology
- More diabetic foot news on Bharat CPO