Japanese employees open diabetes clinic in Mongolia

A fundraising activity at a two day seminar at Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd. in Japan lead to a massive fundraising for the people of Mongolia.

This year the employees have all the reason to be proud. Together with WDF and WHO they are responsible for the opening of a diabetes clinic and an educational program in Mongolia. You may wonder why Japanese employees feel a special need to support people with diabetes in a country as far away as Mongolia. "Japan is part of Asia, and we all know that Asia has more people with diabetes than any other place" says Keiko Ito, one of the two employees of Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd. in Japan. Together with a coworker Keiko decided to collect donations to start up a diabetes clinic in Mongolia. "The culture in Mongolia is changing fast, and they need support from more developed countries in Asia" she says, referring to the country facing the fast changes from nomad culture to urbanisation and the introduction of capitalism. A situation that leaves little space for the government to concentrate on management of non-communicable diseases like diabetes. The fundraising activity started in 2003 at a two day seminar held by the company's sales division. Here 600.000 yen were raised, soon followed by more fundraising. WDF and WHO partnership lead into education plan The two employees soon faced the problem of not being allowed to collect donations outside the company. This is by law not permitted for companies in Japan. WDF was soon involved, not only to act as a catalyst but also to ensure sustainability and expertise.This lead to a further cooperation with WHO (World Health Organisation) who has made the prevention and control of non-communicable disease a priority in Mongolia. Together the partners put together a plan for educating 200 doctors, who on the other hand will pass on the knowledge to nurses and patients in Mongolia. In 2004 over 5 million yen (about 47.000 US dollars) were raised. This offers the opportunity of completing the original goal of starting a clinic, as well as educating about diabetes. The clinic is located in Erdernet, one of Mongolias few  bigger cities and will officially open in May 2005. The employees of Novo Nordisk continue their fundraising activities, and the education program is planned to continue at least until 2006.