Guatemala’s Sololá region, with its sparkling lake ringed by volcanoes, is exceptionally beautiful. But a hidden danger stalks the Maya people who live there.
Glucose tests conducted by Hospitalito Atitlán, WDF’s partner in the region, found that 15% of people tested had diabetes and 11% were pre-diabetic. More than 23% of the hospital’s patients are obese, and 43% are overweight.
WDF funded a total of 11 new projects in the second half of 2020, many in Africa but also spanning the rest of the world.
Several of the new projects build on previous projects, for example by extending Armenia’s national diabetes strategy and improving access to diabetes care and prevention in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Mozambique, a new project aims to ensure that the results obtained during the first phase are not eroded because of the current COVID-19 emergency. Two more projects, in Mongolia and Uganda, are working with different NCD management models.
In 2015, a WDF programme manager visited Amazonas, Brazil to see the progress of Educating Educators in Diabetes Without Borders – an ambitious effort to train hundreds of healthcare professionals in some of Brazil’s most remote areas.
The Global Diabetes Walk 2020 had big shoes to fill. The Walk campaign broke records in 2019, but the arrival of COVID-19 demanded a new approach. After consulting with partners, WDF decided to adapt the 2020 campaign to include smaller Walks, more individuality and the option to walk the whole month of November.
“The results surpassed all our expectations – and confirmed that there is a real appetite for diabetes awareness-raising opportunities, even during a difficult year,” says Gwendolyn Carleton, WDF Communications Manager.
On November 14, the news-style programme Diabetes Matters had its global online premiere.
Diabetes Matters features the voices of people with diabetes, health practitioners and advocates, and was created to raise diabetes awareness for World Diabetes Day 2020 and beyond. The 47-minute programme was produced by ITN Productions in partnership with the International Diabetes Federation and Diabetes UK.
As the number of people with diabetes rises across the world, nurses are becoming increasingly important in managing its impact. The quality of their initial assessment, care and treatment is vital.
As the number of people with diabetes rises across the world, nurses are becoming increasingly important in managing its impact. They are often the first and sometimes only health professional that a person interacts with - the quality of their initial assessment, care and treatment is vital.
The World Diabetes Foundation has received a USD 51,000 donation from Birgitte and Viggo Birch to improve diabetes detection and care in Peru and Nepal.
The donation will be used to extend and strengthen two successful WDF projects. In Peru, it will be used to establish up to 10 new Basic Units for Diabetes Care in poor areas of Lima and Arequipa. The focus will be on preventing diabetic foot as well as on treating complications related to diabetic foot.
In July 2019, a group of local women gathered in a shaded, dusty clearing in Tarabuco, Bolivia to learn about plants. Special plants: Bromeliad guzmania, aloe vera, pomegranate, lemon, orange – two with powers to heal, and three that both heal and feed. After two traditional doctors explained the plants’ benefits and care, the women lined up to receive seedlings of their own, wrapping them carefully in alpaca blankets for safe passage to their homes and gardens.
Since 2004 millions of people have marched under the banner Taking steps to prevent diabetes and urged their friends, families, and communities to do the same.
This simple, urgent message has helped individuals and organisations raise awareness about diabetes – but this year, getting the word out is a bit more complicated.