Priyanka Chopra Jonas Wants to Increase Awareness of Diabetes in India: 'Don't Be Afraid of the Diagnosis' (Exclusive)
Priyanka Chopra Jonas Wants to Increase Awareness of Diabetes in India: 'Don't Be Afraid of the Diagnosis' (Exclusive)
Stacy LambeTue, March 17, 2026 at 11:15 AM UTC
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the 'Heads of State' premiere on June 24, 2025Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage -
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who is featured on the National Geographic 33 list, is raising awareness about the type 1 diabetes epidemic in India
The actress warns that awareness for the disease is "really low" and wants to destigmatize views surrounding diabetes
Harrison Ford and Ewan McGregor are also honored by National Geographic for their environmental and humanitarian efforts
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is on a mission to raise awareness for the diabetes epidemic affecting more than 100 million people in India.
According to National Geographic, which has included her on the National Geographic 33 list honoring changemakers from all over the world, the Citadel star, 43, is determined to not only educate the South Asian community about diabetes — specifically type 1 — but "shift the stigma around the disease for all diabetics in the country."
India has the highest number of type 1 cases among children and teens in the world. Yet, “awareness is really low,” Chopra Jonas warned. So, as a board member of Beyond Type 1 — the nonprofit co-founded by her husband, Nick Jonas — the actress has helped launch an education campaign about type 1 in her home country.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas on the National Geographic 33 listCredit: Justin French for National Geographic
According to the magazine, a video urging "people toward early diagnosis" got 279 million views when Chopra Jonas shared it on her Instagram, leading to more efforts made by Beyond Type 1 to promote early detection in India. Thanks to a $500,000 investment, the organization has since enlisted nearly 200 people to serve as ambassadors in the country and even speak in front of the U.N. General Assembly.
"Don’t be afraid of the diagnosis," Chopa Jonas told the magazine, as part of her continued efforts to encourage people to not to be scared of diabetes. "You can handle and live with this condition — and actually thrive with it."
In addition to Chopra Jonas, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal that Harrison Ford and Ewan McGregor are also featured in the National Geographic 33, which "spotlights individuals pushing boundaries for a more eco-conscious future."
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For 35 years, Ford, 83, has served as the public face, as well as the vice chairman, for Conservation International. The organization's mission is "saving life on Earth, basically," he told National Geographic.
"We simply cannot provide for ourselves the things that nature gives us for free and that sustain our lives," the Shrinking star said, explaining the need for conservation. "Fresh water, clean air, pollinators for our crops, potential new undiscovered medicines and cures for things that ail us, food on our tables. They’re not things that we can provide for ourselves."
Harrison Ford on the National Geographic 33 listCredit: Justin French for National Geographic
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McGregor, 54, meanwhile, is using installments of his motorcycle travel docuseries, Long Way, to shine a light on UNICEF's work around the world, "from a rock-climbing program for at-risk kids in Kazakhstan to a rehabilitation center for child soldiers in Uganda."
"We’re encouraging people to go out into the world and look at it," the actor told the magazine. "Especially these days, when everybody’s becoming more and more attached to looking down into our phones."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
