Three diabetes centres in Afghanistan opened

Three diabetes centres at the Ibn Sina Hospital, the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital and the Wazir Akbar Khan, all situated in the Afghanistan capital Kabul, were inaugurated April 2005. They are the first of their kind in Afghanistan.

At the inauguration, the Afghan Deputy Health Minister, Dr Faizullah Kakar said that four years ago, under the Taliban regime, not even one vial of insulin or treatment was available in Afghanistan.


The inauguration of the three clinics marks a fresh start for diabetes care in Kabul.

A fourth centre in Maiwand Hospital in Kabul will open in June 2005, together with the inauguration of the Afghanistan Diabetes Association.

The clinics are funded through a World Diabetes Foundation project that supports the aim of creating a national diabetes programme in the country.

A fundraising focused on the children

Additional USD 52,000  have been raised at a fundraising event in Denmark with the help of Sardar Mohamed Isaqzai, who is an employee at Novo Nordisk and also engaged in raising the quality of diabetes care in Afghanistan.

The money will be used to enhance the children’s diabetes clinic at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital and make it a national centre of excellence.

For more than a year, Sardar Mohamed Isaqzai has been involved in the proces of establishing the clinics. “We now see the results of our hard work. Last year at this time, these clinics were just a dream. Now it is reality,” he said.

Fundraising escalates

New fundraising activities have dedicated their incoming funds to the children with diabetes in Kabul. At a marathon held in Paris four out of more than 35,000 runners were employees at pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in France. Being a small group of runners they still made a great impact. Not only did they all complete the marathon they also collected 15 EUROS pr. kilometer, ending up giving 2,500 EUROs to Kabul.

Furthermore they arranged a biking activity at a Diabetes Congress in Lyon, collecting further funds.

April in Paris. Rain didn't stop four runners from collecting 2,500 EUROs

Employees from the corporate legal department at  Novo Nordisk in Denmark also decided to raise funds for the benefit of children in Afghanistan, as they spent a sunny Sunday in May at a flea market stand.

May 2005. Volunteers participate in a flea market in Gentofte, Denmark to help the children in Afghanistan.

Facts on the National Diabetes Programme

The national diabetes programme has been running since October 2004. With a budget over USD 1,700,000 a third is coming from the World Diabetes Foundation. The project seeks to raise awareness of diabetes and improve its prevention, detection and treatment in Kabul.

The expected impact of the programme

• Diabetes will become part of the basic national health care package
• Diabetes care facilities at 4 main hospitals in Kabul will be strengthened, including training of all staff in diabetes treatment and control
• 50% of people with diabetes attending the new diabetes centres will have access to effective treatment
• 50% of primary care physicians in Kabul will be trained to screen and diagnose diabetes
• Early detection of diabetes will be improved
• 300 medical students will be trained in diabetes care 

Results to date

• 3 out of 4 planned diabetes centres at main hospitals in Kabul were officially opened by Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health on 17 April 2005
• 5 doctors and 8 laboratory technicians and nurses trained in diabetes care at Baqai Diabetes Institute in Karachi, Pakistan

Read the article "Funds for children in Kabul"

Read more about the National Diabetes Programme