A cause for celebration

The Thai and Danish royal families joined the Danish Ambassador to Thailand in celebrating the World Diabetes Day by raising funds for a mobile eye care unit at a charity dinner.

On 26 November 2008, more than 200 prominent guests including two royal families; TRH the Crown Prince Couple of Denmark, and HRH Princess Soamsawali and HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabna of Thailand gathered at a charity dinner at the residence of the Danish Ambassador in Thailand, Mr. Michael Sternberg. Each guest had paid a significant sum to dine and the funds raised were earmarked to support a mobile eye clinic in the Northern province of Thailand. On the same day, Thailand celebrated the World Diabetes Day.

The event was organised in cooperation with YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) of Bangkok, the Diabetes Association of Thailand, the World Diabetes Foundation and Novo Nordisk A/S. Every single ticket was sold at a price of USD 285 per seat. “We had 204 seats available, and we could easily have sold twice as many seats, if only we had the necessary space to accommodate the guests. With the strong royal attendance, the charity dinner was a huge attraction and every important person in Thailand wanted to be there,” explains Ambassador Michael Sternberg.    

Being responsible

Besides the Danish Crown Prince Couple, the guest list included the top of Thai society, including representation from the Thai Royal House, dignitaries, the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Per Stig Møller, key opinion leaders, Danish companies, artists, and academia. During the dinner, 30 of Thailand’s leading models performed a fashion show sponsored by the Danish fashion company, Evita Peroni. In addition to their show, the company donated USD 4,500. The evening entertainment also included performance by the Danish jazz musician Mr. Chris Minh Doky and traditional dance performances by the Chuchpimook Dance Company. In order to emphasize how the proceeds of the charity dinner would improve access to diabetes care in Thailand, a five minute film about the World Diabetes Foundation’s mobile eye care project in India was projected on large screens.

For the companies present at the event, the dinner was very much about corporate social responsibility. In his speech, the Executive Vice President, Mr. Kaare Schultz, explained what exactly that means for Novo Nordisk A/S: “Corporate Social responsibility means changing diabetes – for people in Europe, in America, in Africa and of course in Asia. Therefore, Novo Nordisk A/S is proud to support this unique project, supporting the establishment of a mobile eye clinic here in Thailand.” Mr. Kaare Schultz took the opportunity to announce a USD 10,000 donation from Novo Nordisk A/S for the setting up of the mobile eye clinic.

Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark visiting the Bang Kayang Community Medical Unit.

Seeing is believing

In 2008, the World Diabetes Day was celebrated on two different dates in Thailand. On 12 November, hospitals in every Thai province celebrated the World Diabetes Day by conducting screenings and educational activities for the public. The second celebration on 26 November coincided with the visit of the Danish Crown Prince Couple along with a delegation of Danish business entities, marking the official celebrations of the 150 years of diplomatic relations between the Royal Kingdoms of Denmark and Thailand. For Ambassador Sternberg, this provided the perfect platform for organising a charity and diabetes awareness event, combined with the celebrations of 150 years of diplomatic relations and illustrating the Danish business community’s support to the concept of corporate social responsibility. 

During the official programme on 26 November, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark visited the Bang Kayang Community Medical Unit, where she met diabetes patients. At the clinic, the Crown Princess saw with her own eyes some of the problems that people with diabetes must endure in the developing countries, including the complications that occur if left untreated.

The Bang Kayang Community Medical Unit has the responsibility of providing primary health care to a population of 12,122 from four surrounding villages. A total of nine health care personnel attend the patients at the medical unit. The number of patients with diabetes visiting the provincial hospital has been increasing every year. As a result of the increasing rates of patients with diabetes in Thailand as a whole, the Ministry of Public Health regularly provides general health checks and screening for diabetes and hypertension at the community medical units to detect cases early.

The concept of bringing access to treatment to rural areas is not new in Thailand, and this is an advantage when establishing the mobile eye care unit. Bang Kayang Community Medical Unit arranges an outreach clinic to communities every year. Screening includes diabetes and hypertension. Those who have high blood sugar levels will be referred to the doctor of the Bang Kayang Community Medical Unit and they will receive information on a proper diet and a healthy lifestyle. Patients with diabetes that need attention from specialists are referred to the Pathum Thani Provincial Hospital for further treatment. All diabetes patients are sent to an ophthalmologist at the hospital for an eye check-up to detect any possible diabetes-related retinal problems.

Inspired by India

The initial idea to raise funds for a mobile eye clinic in Thailand occurred in the beginning of 2008, when Ambassador Sternberg travelled with the Managing Director of the World Diabetes Foundation, Dr. Anil Kapur, to Cambodia to inaugurate two diabetes clinics. But the seed for supporting access to diabetes care for the poor was sown years back when he visited one of the World Diabetes Foundation’s first eye care projects in India. At that time, he was Danish Ambassador to India.

“One of the experiences that made a long-lasting impression was a visit to a mobile eye clinic in Madurai, India. I saw this poor rice farmer who came into the mobile van and had his eyes checked by a specialist, who was 300 km away, via satellite connection. He was told to come back for laser treatment the following week. To me the set-up of the telemedicine van was absolutely fantastic, and I am convinced that it can be replicated to a successful project in Thailand as well,” he says.

Eye care on wheels

The set-up to be replicated from India is to bring the most advanced eye care to the very doorstep in remote rural areas. An advanced, fully equipped mobile eye care van will visit villages in Northern Thailand and treat patients on the spot in the van. The mobile unit will allow local ophthalmologists and specialists to get access to diagnostic and therapeutic equipment. In addition to this, installed video conferencing will allow for consultations with specialists at the nearby provincial hospital.

To overcome the barriers for access to care and the vast distances, the World Diabetes Foundation has funded several mobile eye care units in developing countries which use highly advanced equipment to diagnose and treat people with retinopathy in semi-urban and rural settings. In addition, training in diabetes detection, management and counselling is given to several levels of health care professionals; ophthalmologists, general practitioners and health workers. By using a specially built bus, screening, consultation and treatment facilities are brought to poor and disadvantaged people in the rural areas.

Blindness can be prevented. But if there is no access to care and if the health care available is unable to diagnose, blindness will prevail. In developing countries, diabetic retinopathy is one of the major causes of preventable blindness. It is estimated that millions of people worldwide are affected by sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy. To date, retinopathy treatment is very limited in Thailand and has only been available at certain urban hospitals. This means travelling 200-300 km to access such care, resulting in a huge barrier for poor people who live in rural and semi-urban areas.

Long-term effect

After the charity event, eye care in rural Thai areas is one step closer to becoming real. Profits from the sale of seats and corporate and individual sponsorships amounted to USD 25,569. While this is a sizeable amount, it is not enough to set up the mobile unit and an estimated additional USD 325,000-350,000 will be donated by the World Diabetes Foundation. It is expected that the first steps to establish the mobile eye unit will be initiated in 2009.The Thai Ministry of Public Health will be the implementing partner who will also carry all the running costs associated with the mobile unit and provide the health care staff needed to man the unit.

Apart from raising money, the value of such events lies in the awareness they help create. “The event was a success beyond all expectations. I am sure that the presence of so many prominent people at the event will mobilise interest and action within diabetes care in Thailand in the long term,” says Mr. Leif Fenger Jensen, Vice Chairman of the World Diabetes Foundation, who represented the Foundation at the charity dinner.