The objective of the project is to improve access to diabetes care through establishment of 8 regional diabetes clinics.
Expected impact
30 physicians and diabetes educators trained
3,600 people treated for diabetes
8,000 people with diabetes exposed to awareness programme
8,000 people from the general population exposed to awareness programme
Results at project completion
8 + 2 regional diabetes clinics (3 in Kathmandu and 5 outside Kathmandu) have been established.
26 doctors and 86 nurses and educators from diabetes clinics have been trained. Furthermore, 216 nurses and health workers from other departments have been trained.
4,734 people with diabetes have been treated in the established clinics.
10,061 people have been reached through awareness and screening camps. 3,810 screened for diabetes.
Guidelines for diabetes management and various health education materials have been developed and printed and are being used in the 10 clinics.
1,000 people participated in the Global Diabetes Walk in November 2009 in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Dharan.
Project details
Like most other countries in South Asia, Nepal is witnessing an epidemic of diabetes - an epidemic threatening to overwhelm an already stretched health service.
Management of diabetes is poor in Nepal because of lack of awareness, lack of proper training and lack of guidelines on treatment. As a consequence, a large number of people with diabetes have chronic complications which otherwise could have been avoided or at least delayed.
Moreover, since primary prevention is more or less nonexistent in Nepal, physicians spend their time trying to treat diabetes whereas education of people with or at risk of diabetes is not addressed.
However, after the successful implementation of the WDF funded project "Diabetes education and prevention" (WDF03-059) Astha Nepal has initiated a new project to test whether diabetes clinics can enhance uniformity and guided management for diabetes care.
Approach
The partner Astha Nepal is a local NGO aiming at promoting public awareness of health issues and encouraging local communities to take proactive measures to reduce the burden of chronic diseases.
As a starting point, guidelines for management and prevention of diabetes in Nepal will be developed with the assistance and input from leading health professionals and institutions including the Ministry of Health and WHO.
The guidelines will be put to use at 8 new diabetes clinics in selected cities throughout the country. The clinics will preferably be placed at existing government hospitals and health centres catering to the poor with minimum subsidised fees and will serve as referral centres for other small clinics.
The physicians and diabetes educators employed at the diabetes clinics will be trained in order to gain sufficient knowledge about proper management and prevention of diabetes and its complications. In total, 30 physicians and diabetes educators will be trained.
With the diabetes clinics as their base, the trained physicians and diabetes educators will treat people with diabetes and provide them with knowledge about the disease, complications and means for prevention. This should motivate patients to seek good management of diabetes but also clarify misconceptions about the disease.
The clinics will also serve as starting point for an awareness campaign on diabetes - its sign and symptoms, risk factors and complications, applying the education materials developed under WDF03-059.
Not only will the campaign inform the public about the activities taking place at the clinics and the possibilities for treatment, it will also disseminate prevention messages including the impact of lifestyle modifications.
It is expected that the awareness component will reach 8,000 people with diabetes and 8,000 people from the general public.
