gwen's blog

Fundraiser project brings diabetes foot care to Myanmar

Ms Daw Aye Aye Than receiving foot care at the new diabetes foot clinic at hospital UM1 in Yangon.
On a warm November day in Yangon, a neatly dressed 49-year-old woman sat stoically behind a wood and glass partition at University Hospital UM1, her legs outstretched in front of her. A nurse swabbed her left foot gently, cleaning the space around her recently amputated second toe. The woman cringed, but made no sound.
 
“She has pain,” acknowledged Moe Wint Aung, Professor in endocrinology in the Department of Endocrine. “We would like to give her some analgesic spray, but we have a shortage of this good material for pain.”
 

On World Diabetes Day, a needed focus on women and girls

Diabetes educator nurses, Sri Lanka
Diabetes educator nurses in Sri Lanka, where a WDF-supported national NCD response is helping women reduce their diabetes risks. Photo by Jesper Westley.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have been the leading causes of death among women globally for at least the past three decades. Today, they are responsible for two in every three deaths among women. What’s worse, the NCD burden on women is expected to increase, especially in low and middle income countries.  
 
Why are women suffering disproportionately from diabetes, and what can be done about it? 
 

New WDF Director: Partners can expect the same, and more

Leif Fenger, WDF Managing Director
Leif Fenger Jensen brings 25 years of international experience to his role as WDF Managing Director.
When Mr Leif Fenger Jensen assumed the role of World Diabetes Foundation Managing Director on 1 November, it was both a return to familiar territory, and a new start. 
 
Mr Jensen helped create the WDF, served as its first Managing Director from 2002-2005, and served as the Vice Chairman of its Board from 2005-2017. Yet he resumes the Managing Director role in a Foundation that is much changed – with 15 years of experience, global reach, and a growing demand for its expertise.
 

WDF announces changes to its Board of Directors

GENTOFTE, DENMARK – The World Diabetes Foundation today announced the constitution of a new Board of Directors. The Board consists of Dr Anil Kapur (Chairman), Mr Mike Rulis (Vice Chairman), Ms Ida Nicolaisen, Dr Kaushik Ramaiya, Prof Abdallah Daar, and Mr Frederik Kier.
 
Mr Mike Rulis is Senior Vice President of Communication, Relations & Sustainability at Novo Nordisk A/S, and based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He joined Novo Industri A/S in 1984 and since he held different managerial roles with increasing responsibilities within the company. 

Asian Geographic article explores diabetes toll in Asia

Asian Geographic No 127 Issue 5 2017
Mohamad Larook, a Sri Lankan man who lost a leg and his sight to diabetes, is among the patients portrayed in an article about diabetes in Asia.
The Silent Epidemic, an article in Asian Geographic’s September 2017 issue, begins with a devastating scene: relatives gathered around the bedside of a farmer who has just had his leg amputated. They came to raise his spirits, but were concerned, the man’s son confided. Tending the crops and getting follow-up care were just a few of the challenges ahead.
 

Walk2017: Jain Hospital takes the lead

Jain Hospital Walk India 2016
The 2016 Jain Hospital Walk campaign reached new levels – and this year’s campaign promises to be larger still.
In 2016, Jain Hospital arranged Walks in 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh involving more than 75,000 participants. How was this accomplished? Dr Rajesh Jain, the facilitator of the campaign, explains. 
 
Dr Jain’s first WDF project was WDF12-678, providing support to gestational diabetes prevention and control in Uttar Pradesh. His second project was WDF15-951, redefining and expanding Uttar Pradesh’s state NCD response, was approved in 2016. 
 

National Diabetes Program launched in Ramallah

Launch WDF15-1304, Ramallah, Sept 2017
From left: Mr Ahmad Abo Halaweh, Augusta Victoria Hospital; Dr Umaiyeh Khammash, Juzoor (and formerly UNRWA); Dr Anders Dejgaard, WDF; Dr Abdul Fatah, Palestine MoH; and Mrs Lisa Henry, DanChurchAid.
This week, efforts to improve diabetes care for Palestinians took a major step forward with the launch of a project targeting the northern region of the West Bank, where diabetes services currently are scarce.
 

In Tanzania, a type 1 advocate who knows what’s at stake

Anita Bulindi
Twelve years ago, Anita Bulinda was a child learning to live with type 1 diabetes. Today, she’s a co-founder of the Tanzanian Diabetes Youth Alliance.
SEE THE FILM (3 minutes)
 
“When I finish school, I would love to be a lawyer,” young Anita Bulindi says confidently to the camera. ”Because I like to defend the people who have rights. That's what I like.”
 

In Nigeria, diabetes stakeholders resolve to work harder

Dr Evelyn Ngige (left) greets Anders Dejgaard at the podium of ‘Diabetes and NCDs in Nigeria’
Dr Evelyn Ngige (left) greets Anders Dejgaard at the podium of ‘Diabetes and NCDs in Nigeria’, a stakeholder meeting in Abuja.
“If Nigeria is to meet its global commitments, there’s a lot of hard work to be done,” Dr Anders Dejgaard, Managing Director of the World Diabetes Foundation, said at the start of Diabetes and NCDs in Nigeria on 24 August.
 
His audience clearly agreed. Over the next two days, WDF partners energetically exchanged experiences gained from their work combatting diabetes across Nigeria, and urged government to increase support for diabetes and other NCD responses.