gwen's blog

Today is World Diabetes Day, a moment to take stock of the impact of diabetes on individuals and communities worldwide - and imagine a better future. 

Millions of people with diabetes around the world lack access to the knowledge, care, medicine and support they need to manage their condition and avoid complications. Healthcare systems worldwide, already strained by COVID-19 and other acute, overlapping health challenges, are under pressure to change this. 

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The tour began on the bus. As the office buildings and apartment blocks of Amman gave way to rolling desert, Dr Yousef Shahin from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) explained where the idea for WDF’s 2019 fundraiser project came from.

At a Diabetes Compass workshop on a February day in Colombo, the participants - about 25 Sri Lankan healthcare experts and WDF representatives - divided into four groups. Each group received a profile of a local resident with diabetes. 

The profiles, which included text and pictures, described real people who were struggling to control their blood sugar. Several had developed advanced complications. One had recently died from the disease.  None of them had received a timely diagnosis. 

BAGSVÆRD, DENMARK – The World Diabetes Foundation today announces the constitution of a new Board of Directors. The Board consists of Dr Anil Kapur (Chair), Ms Tina Abild Olesen (Vice-chair), Ms Ida Nicolaisen, Dr Kaushik Ramaiya, Prof Abdallah Daar and Dr Stephen Gough. 
 

This article was originally published on the occasion of WDF's 20th anniversary on WDF20.org

Partnerships are at the heart of WDF’s work. This means that the projects WDF supports are initiated, implemented and sustained by local partners. Large and small, public and private, grassroots and global, WDF’s partners take on many shapes and sizes. But they all have one thing in common: an idea for how to alleviate human suffering related to diabetes. 

At Friday noon prayers on a steamy June day, a group of men at the Bhawal Purbopara Jame Mosque in Dhaka listen quietly as their Imam reads from a printed text in his hands. 

“Let’s abide by those rules of the Quran and Hadith concerning food consumption, and encourage others to do the same,” he concludes.

On a bright day in March, 54 doctors from eight regions settled into a conference room in Dodoma, Tanzania to become Trainer of Trainers in non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

They were not alone. Similar three-day trainings of 36 healthcare professionals representing two regions had already taken place. Training for an additional 68 healthcare professionals representing the country’s remaining 10 regions is planned later in 2022.  

In the first half of 2022, WDF supported projects focused on helping young people with Type 1 diabetes, preventing populations from developing Type 2 diabetes, and advancing NCD prevention and care at the national level of government. All are based in Africa except for one, a digital health project benefitting youth with Type 1, which is based in Pakistan.

This article was originally published on the occasion of WDF's 20th anniversary on WDF20.org

Millions of women each year are diagnosed with pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes and pregnancy hypertension (a precursor to pre-eclampsia). Research shows women who experience these conditions during one pregnancy are at very high risk of the same and additional problems in subsequent pregnancies, as well as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease later in life.

The UNLEASH India Global Innovation Lab is looking for 125 people between 18-35 years of age with insights into non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Those selected will travel to Karnataka, India to develop innovative ideas for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.4: Reduce mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health.