Kyrgyzstan has made strides in treating type 1 diabetes in recent years. To name a few: the condition is now on a list of priority NCDs of the Kyrgyz Republic. The national health system covers all types of insulin for children and youth up to 29 years old, and a new mobile app for type 1 management has been developed and piloted.
It’s late afternoon, and Dr Kaushik Ramaiya, Consultant Physician and CEO at Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, is completing his rounds in the intensive care unit. There are six patients on respirators; one, he notes approvingly, will soon be able to breathe on his own. But there are other concerns: the need for more testing and protective equipment, a hotline to answer patients’ questions, a mobile unit to bring care to their homes.
According to the WHO, older people and people with pre-existing conditions such as heart diseases, diabetes and respiratory conditions appear to be more susceptible to becoming severely ill with the COVID-19 virus.
BAGSVÆRD, DENMARK 20 April 2020 -
The global COVID-19 outbreak has shown that patients with NCDs such diabetes, hypertension and heart disease have a much higher risk of severe and even fatal illness from the virus.
NCD patients in Jordan already face challenges in accessing health services due to the Syrian refugee influx and persistent humanitarian crisis, and the COVID-19 spread is expected to increase the pressure on the already overburdened health care system in Jordan.
BAGSVÆRD, DENMARK 20 April 2020 -
The COVID-19 virus outbreak has affected countries worldwide, but scenarios across sub-Saharan Africa are still uncertain although cases are confirmed and on the rise in many parts of the region. From the global data observed so far it is known that people living with diabetes, hypertension and other NCDs (non-communicable diseases) are at high risk of severe and even fatal illness from a COVID-19 infection.
On the lush green lawn of a colonial-era inn in Embu, Kenya, parents who recently met were sharing some deeply personal memories and fears.
“She was sick, sick, sick - we were moving between health facilities and we couldn't find the cause,” Jemima Mwihaki said.
Line Consolata Waita nodded. “My son was diagnosed when he was only 12 years old. He's my first one and is my heart. I thought – no, not that.”
“My son, he thought that after diagnosis he wouldn’t live 10 years,” Boniface Maina Muriithi said.
In 2016 the project Enhancing Diabetes Prevention and Self-management, WDF14-899, was nearing its end, and WDF and HelpAge International were reviewing its achievements.
These included a new, nationwide network of diabetes self-help groups and 40,000 people screened for diabetes. Data collected by the project, however, were cause for concern.
As a young diabetes specialist in England’s West Midlands, Dr Stephen Gough was drawn to an important – if low-status – challenge: healing and preventing new wounds in diabetic feet.
"Diabetic foot disease can be a neglected area of care even in the UK. Many consider feet to be smelly and dirty, and best avoided! No one really wanted to look after them,” he recalls.
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 Camilla Sylvest (Vice-chair), Ms Ida Nicolaisen, Dr Kaushik Ramaiya, Prof Abdallah Daar, Mr Frederik Kier and Dr Stephen Gough.
Stephen Gough, MD, FRCP, joined Novo Nordisk A/S in 2015, based in Copenhagen to provide medical guidance on the development of new molecules and drugs for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. In 2018, he became Senior Vice President and Global Chief Medical Officer.
WDF signed contracts funding a total of 16 new projects around the world in 2019. Four of them were announced in June, and the remaining 12 are listed below.
The projects illustrate the global scope of the WDF’s partnerships, taking place in all regions and covering a wide variety of focus areas.
New projects signed in 2019