80-year-old Billow Hassan Barkadala lives in the Dadaab camp for displaced communities. The camp, set up in 1991 in Northern Kenya to shelter people fleeing the civil war in Somalia, is now home to more than 200,000 persons.
The inhabitants of the camp share a story of resilience, reflected in Billow’s remarkable fortitude in managing her condition. Due to scarce resources and limited access to health services in the camp, she often had to travel to receive care.
"As a diabetes patient, my main challenge is the costly transportation caused by the facility's distance. When I have to go from here (home) to the clinic for treatment, particularly during times when my blood pressure and sugar levels are uncontrolled, I encounter financial and logistical difficulties.”, she explains.
Thanks to the current WDF21-1847 project co-led by the Danish Red Cross, the Kenya Red Cross Crescent Society, the Somali Red Crescent Society and the Ministries of Health to improve the management of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases amongst displaced populations in Somalia and Kenya, people in the Dadaab camp have better access to care.
“Home-based care (through the work of community health workers) has been very helpful to me. It enables us [in the camp] to regularly monitor our health and well-being while reducing the expenses linked to travel", adds Billow.