gwen's blog

WDF and UNICEF join forces to prevent NCDs in children

WDF's Dr Anil Kapur and UNICEF's Alfred Josefsen at the signing of the new agreement.

On 5 March, the Chairman of UNICEF Denmark and the Chairman of the World Diabetes Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate collaboration between the two organisations in an area of common interest: preventing diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

2019 Fundraiser: improving foot care for refugees

A Palestinian man receives a diabetes foot exam in the West Bank. WDF’s 2019 fundraiser will extend such quality care to thousands of refugees across Jordan.

WDF has worked with the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2002 to improve diabetes prevention and care in the agency’s health centres across the region.

WDF funds 13 new projects in second half of 2018

Potential beneficiaries of WDF18-1579, a new project combatting NCDs among Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, with a focus on women’s health.

Projects funded by WDF in the second half of 2018 stretch from Argentina to Zimbabwe, and focus on a variety of interventions and focus areas. But they share a goal of diabetes prevention and – as neatly summarised by the new Niger project - to improve the health of people with diabetes.

Below is a list of the 13 new partnership projects that received WDF funding in the second six months of 2018.

New projects signed in second half of 2018

Rwanda fundraiser supports vulnerable youth

Crispin Gishoma and Esperance Habinshuti (centre) discuss the 2017 fundraiser project with WDF visitors.

Esperance Habinshuti is a 26-year old Kigali resident with big brown eyes and a slow, knowing smile. She also has type 1 diabetes, and spends much of her free time teaching others about the disease and how to manage it.

“When Esperence talks, people say, ‘When you speak about your disease, it almost sounds like fun,” says Crispin Gishoma, executive director of the Rwanda Diabetes Association (RDA).

To defeat diabetes, start with the family

Meal preparation in India, where mothers-in-law traditionally have considerable say over household matters. Photos courtesy of WDF.

On November 14, many around the world will pause to mark World Diabetes Day. This year’s theme is The Family and Diabetes – and it is wisely chosen, I believe. Decades of work with anthropology and healthcare have convinced me that diabetes is truly a family issue.

ASHAs tackle sky-high diabetes rates in the Himalayas

ASHAs at work in Sikkim. ‘They are able to do things that more highly trained professionals may not have the time or access to do,’ says Dr Nerges F Mistry.

Tucked in between Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal, the Himalayan state of Sikkim includes India’s highest mountain, glaciers, alpine meadows and thousands of varieties of wildflowers. Its 610,000 residents also have one of India’s highest rates of diabetes and hypertension.

In Myanmar, midwives gain a new role – fighting NCDs

Midwife Daw Khin Ohnmar Htoon (right) conducts a health check in Myaung Tagan. Photo by Jesper Westley.

It’s a warm weekday afternoon in Myaung Tagan, and midwife Daw Khin Ohnmar Htoon is back in her home village. But she’s very much at work – dressed in her red and white uniform, with her NCD bag in hand, she’s here to check on her neighbours’ health.

Why talk about NCDs? Film series explores what’s at stake

Dr Kaushik Ramaiya explores the need to increase NCD awareness in developing countries – one of nine topics explored in WDF’s #LetsTalkNCDs film series.

On 27 September, the United Nations General Assembly is staging the third High-level Meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which will undertake a comprehensive review of progress achieved in protecting people from dying too young from NCDs.

Bangladeshi weddings gain a new tradition – pre-conception counselling

A bride signs the register on her wedding day, after receiving pre-conception counselling from the marriage registrar.

In Bangladesh, it is estimated that about half of the roughly 6 million pregnancies each year are unplanned, and nearly 25% are unwanted.

After UNLEASH, efforts to defeat NCDs continue

Mamadou Sy (second from left) and Josianne Galea Baron (far right) with team members at the second UNLEASH Innovation Lab.

See the film (2 mins)

From May 30-June 6, 1,000 young leaders from more than 100 countries met in Singapore for the second UNLEASH Innovation Lab. Selected for their passion, intelligence, and creativity, they were tasked with finding innovative solutions to some of the world’s most intractable problems.