The prevalence of diabetes is dramatically increasing in Africa, with an estimated 10.4 million people living with diabetes in 2007.In 2025, the number of people with diabetes in Africa will increase by 80% to 18.7 million (IDF Diabetes Atlas). As the continent is going through a rapid epidemiological transition, the burden of diabetes will exceed the resources available for health care in most countries.Moreover, it is not only the financial means that are lacking; there is a scarcity of trained healthcare personnel capable of tackling the prevention, diagnosis and management of diabetes at all healthcare system levels.Sub-Saharan African countries are designing and adopting national diabetes plans that rely on a multi-level care system. However, most countries lack diabetes specialists and cannot provide adequate diabetes training to physicians, nurses and other healthcare staff.The project aims to train healthcare personnel from 6 West African countries, thereby raising the quality of diabetes care provided.
The six participating countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Central Africa Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Conakry and Togo, all French-speaking countries, selected because of their expressed needs.Two training courses are conducted in each participating country. The first course - conducted in year 1 of the project -targets physicians. In year two, a course is held for diabetes-oriented senior dieticians, diabetes senior nurses, and educators.Each course lasts five days with approximately 30-40 participants. 400 health care personnel are expected to be trained over the 2-year project period.Faculty is primarily drawn from Cameroon but utilises 1-2 local experts where possible. The courses comprise lectures, tutorials, clinical work, group work and country adaptation of the existing tools of diabetes care. Also, participants are guided in developing diabetes care initiatives in their settings.Tools, guidelines and training material developed by IDF Africa, the "Cameroon Burden of Diabetes" project and the Diabetes Association of Mali are applied in this project.When the project faculty returns to conduct the second training course, they will be available to facilitate new diabetes initiatives from previously trained physicians.Upon completing the training courses, each participant is expected to train at least 5-10 other healthcare personnel, increasing the project's impact.Emphasis is placed on promoting networking and international collaboration and encourages the development of new diabetes initiatives. To this end, a web-based medical education programme, a website containing training modules and email interaction will ensure networking and continuous education.
• 451 Doctors and Nurses Trained • Approximately 3200 primary care doctors and nurses have been trained through ToT• Website developed where course material was posted• Partnerships has been created among the countries with Guinea and Cameroon obtaining joint proposals from funding bodies