Your Spotlight
What’s your story as an advocate – the barriers you face, the issues that matter, successes you’ve had – let others know. Battling Fake Diabetes Cures: Addressing Misinformation on Chronic Conditions in Africa, by: Lejla Driškić Mustafić Introduction Diabetes is a growing health concern across Africa, with the prevalence of the condition rising rapidly. According […]
No Access for Half of those Needing Insulin!
In December 2023, Amsterdam played host to a major global gathering, bringing together more than 80 experts to tackle the pressing issues surrounding sustainable access to insulin. The discussions focused on the findings of the Addressing the Challenges and Constraints of Insulin Sources and Supply (ACCISS) Study by Health Action International, particularly focusing on insulin […]
War Zone Access to Insulin
A petition was raised by people from the diabetes community worldwide to ensure uninterrupted access to insulin in conflict zones and during humanitarian crises, such as Ukraine, Gaza, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. “Insulin represents survival, and access to it safeguards the human rights to health and life,” claimed Nathalie Piat, a member of this […]
WHO Support for Soda Taxes
The World Health Organisation has published a global list of countries in its WHO Manual that have introduced taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, and is calling on all countries to tax sugar drinks in order to save lives. Eighty-five countries are listed as having some form of sugar taxation in the WHO Manual, with several countries […]
Research Corner
1 in 3 adults with type 2 diabetes may have undetected cardiovascular disease. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/1-in-3-adults-with-type-2-diabetes-may-have-undetected-cardiovascular-disease Diabetes linked to functional and structural brain changes. Covid increased the risk of diabetes. Prioritising Maori and Pacific patients for new diabetes drugs pays off http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/5/417649 More Stem Cell research into diabetes with studies in Kenya and the US. Advocacy Action: […]
Highly Processed Foods Warning
“Your food is supposed to be your medicine and your medicine is supposed to be your food.” African Proverb This has been recognised in the Zambia Food-Based Dietary Guidelines that claim, “Evidence suggests most Zambians do not base their diets on diverse foods. The diet of most Zambians is monotonous, mostly dominated by maize-based foods […]
Good News
Cardiovascular health official, Dr Pascal Bovet allayed the fears by explaining that risks for such illnesses in Seychelles have decreased, however, with a growing and ageing population numbers will appear larger. “We have evidence here in Seychelles that the risks have also decreased – a 45-year-old man now has less risks of cardiovascular diseases than […]
Seychelles Survey on NCDs
The Seychelles’ health ministry has launched a population-based survey on cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases to assess the distribution of health behaviours, diet and main risk factors in the whole population. The survey, which is being conducted between mid-August and December 2023 and will help local health authorities start the process to establish a better database on cardiovascular […]
Diabetes Risk of Peripheral Neuropathy
Over 6,000 healthcare professionals from across Asia, Africa and the Middle East were brought together at a ‘Demystifying Neuropathy Forum’ organised by P & G Health. The online event saw presentations on the latest clinical guidance and research findings on screening and management of Peripheral Neuropathy. Peripheral Neuropathy (PN) is a chronic clinical condition, wherein […]
Combating NCDs in Namibia
Namibia’s Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula called for a need to ramp up interventions and strategies aimed at combating non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. He has highlighted the promotion of physical activity and adopting a healthy diet, specifically targeting the reduction of salt, sugar, and trans-fat intake to address obesity and […]
Sugar Taxes Nigeria
The Nigerian federal government says it is committed to attain the global best practice of nearly 20 per cent taxation on the final retail price on all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). With non-communicable diseases believed to be the leading cause of death in Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, evidence-based interventions are being recommended by […]
Nigeria Unveils National Eye Health Plan
The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a National Eye Health Strategic Development Plan including a Diabetic Retinopathy screening and management guideline together with Glaucoma Guidelines and Toolkit which are policy documents aimed at improving vision and eye health in the country. Around 24 million Nigerians are living with treatable sight loss caused by untreated […]
Draft Bill Published
A Draft Bill on Health Insurance Scheme is being debated by the Ugandan Parliament. It stipulates that all Ugandans aged 18 and above will have to enrol and pay premium to the proposed national health Insurance Scheme. For those below 18 and are dependents, their parents or guardians will have to pay for them. Premium for […]
PDGN News: Welcome Thapi
PDGN welcomes Thapi Semenya as our Digital Lead. Thapi is from and based in South Africa, and has been living with diabetes for 17 years. She is passionate about advocacy. Over the years she had built up an audience on social media platforms that she uses to educate about her multiple chronic conditions namely Diabetes, […]
Uganda Symposium
A month earlier, in February, Uganda’s Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) organised a nutrition symposium in Kampala, focusing on the systems approach for improving nutrition service delivery and outcomes in Uganda. Experiences were shared by nutrition stakeholders with reports on research findings, innovations, and lessons learned from projects. The […]
South Africa Hosts Nutrition Congress
For the first time since the Covid pandemic disruptions, nutrition and dietetic health professionals from Africa and further afield gathered in person for the 2023 Nutrition Congress. Held in West Somerset, Western Cape, the 3-day event was co-hosted by NSSA (Nutrition Society of South Africa) and ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa). At the […]
Sugar Tax Experience
PDGN Vice-President and member of the Moroccan House of Representatives, Dr Mostafa Brahimi, attended the Regional Expert Meeting on Policy Action for Healthy Diets in Dubai, where he shared his country’s experience of soda (SSB) taxes. As a member of the Moroccan Obesity Task Force, he explained how Morocco implemented a sugar tax and the […]
Sugar Tax Battles in Nigeria
The battle rages in Nigeria over sugar taxes as some industry players continue to resist and campaign against them, particularly in developing countries. In Nigeria, the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) organisation recently hosted a media event to highlight the significance of healthy food policies such as the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax. During the […]
Chad Screening Programme
The Government of the Republic of Chad, a large landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa, launched a diabetes, blood pressure, obesity and kidney disease screening campaign in April. Four sites were chosen to screen all age groups free of charge. The Chadian Minister of Health, Dr Abdelmadjid Abderahim (pictured), officially launched […]
Delays to SA Food Warning Labels
New draft legislation for warning labels on food is awaiting Parliamentary action in South Africa. Packaged food can be high in sugar, salt and saturated fat – all of which have been directly linked to life-threatening conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Better labelling has been shown to increase the amount of […]
Nutrition News: Is the Mediterranean Diet Best?
An article in USA Today thinks so, although it does recognise that there is no such thing as one diet for the peoples who live around the giant in-land Mediterranean Sea. With twenty-one countries whose shores are lapped by the Med there is a diverse range of foods consumed. But as the article points out […]
African Region Tops WHO Analysis for Undiagnosed Diabetes
Only 46 percent of people living with diabetes in the African region know their status. This raises the risk of severe illness and death, potentially worsening the situation in the region which already has the world’s highest mortality rates due to the disease, a new analysis by World Health Organization (WHO) shows. https://www.afro.who.int/news/african-region-tops-world-undiagnosed-diabetes-who-analysis Advocacy Action: […]
More News From Around the Globe: Moroccan Success
PDGN Vice-President and Moroccan MP, Dr Mostafa Brahimi reports on his advocacy success with the draft finance law 2023. “After the introduction of the tax on sugary drinks in 2018 and 2019, and thanks to my repetitive interventions and amendments to the 2019, 2020 and 2021 finance laws, we organized a study day between parliament, […]
More News From Around the World
Ugandan Retinopathy Plan Successful advocacy in Uganda has led the Minister for Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng MP to announce a government plan to roll out surgery for diabetic retinopathy to all regional hospitals. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes, caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the back of the eye (retina). It […]
News from Around the World: South Africa’s Obesity Costs Typical Across Africa
Obesity-related conditions and their complications across the continent of Africa may add up to nearly 10 percent of all health expenditure. The costs of obesity and associated conditions add hugely to healthcare costs and productivity losses. In turn this adds a large burden on individuals, their families and on governments. Research funded through the University […]
Type One Breakthrough
In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Provention Bio’s immune therapy indicated to delay the onset of presently incurable type 1 diabetes (T1D). Teplizumab, an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody, is the first approved therapy shown to delay the progression to stage 3 T1D for some people at high risk of developing the condition. […]
Nigeria – Coalition for Sugar Taxes
A coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), including the Nigerian Diabetes Association, are calling on the Nigerian Government to introduce the sugar tax that was introduced in a Finance Act last year and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. The purpose of the tax is to help tackle the health risks of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages […]
More News from Around the World: Role of Taxation in Preventing Obesity – Moroccan Summit
PDGN Vice-President and Moroccan MP, Dr Mostafa Brahimi, reports that a summit on the role of taxation in preventing obesity was held in the Moroccan Parliament. The summit involved parliamentarians, agri-food industry representatives, such as biscuits, sugar drinks and dairy products, together with academics and the President of the of the International Diabetes Federation Middle-East […]
Nutrition News: Call For Mandatory Labelling of Foods
The linking of poor nutrition to chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases is well documented. According to Siphiwe Dlamini, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, writing in ‘The Conversation’, these diseases are likely to become increasingly prevalent in developing countries like South Africa due to rapid and often […]
News from Around the World: Kenya
CAPTION: 650 Million mobile phone users in Africa The World Bank and African Development Bank report there are 650 million mobile phone users in Africa, surpassing the number in the United States or Europe. In some African countries more people have access to a mobile phone than to clean water, a bank account or electricity. Medical technology […]
Eye Care News
Why Regular Eye Checkups Prevent Blindness The relationship between diabetes and eye damage is sometimes overlooked, despite it being a condition that affects the entire body system, including both the internal and external organs like the eye, kidney, heart, and brain. Ophthalmologist Dr. Tunji Oluleye, from the College Hospital, Ibadan Nigeria, argues that regular eye […]
Sub-Saharan Africa Study
A study suggesting there are protective effects against cardiovascular disease from a plant based diet has been published in the ‘British Journal of Cancer.’ https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-12724-w
Diabetes and Covid 19: Links to Covid in Zimbabwe
The Bulawayo City Council Health Services Department has recorded a rise in new diabetes and hypertension cases in 2020 and 2021 that medical experts are claiming are linked to the effects of Covid. Hypertension is diagnosed when blood pressure rates are above normal. It is the second most prevalent chronic disease in Zimbabwe, affecting around […]
News In Brief: Access to Tech
A campaign to increase access to new technology for people with insulin dependent diabetes is gaining momentum in South Africa. The South African Diabetes Advocacy, an alliance of all the organisations for people with diabetes in the country, will lodge an appeal this week with the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to make flash glucose […]
New Group in Uganda
Under the leadership of Dr Hon Nicholas Kamara, parliamentarians have formed a new cross-party group to advocate for diabetes within Uganda. He becomes the first Chair of the group comprised of members from 5 different political groups in the Ugandan Parliament. They have agreed to come together under a non-communicable disease (NCD) umbrella to develop […]
Refugee Project Launched
Even before the crisis in Ukraine there were record numbers of refugees around the world. The World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) has called for an holistic approach to meeting the health needs of displaced peoples. The WDF’s mission is to alleviate human suffering related to diabetes among those in greatest need. With record numbers of people […]
Evidence of a Successful Sugar Tax
With more than a quarter of its citizens living with obesity, South Africans are among the top 20 percent of the most obese nations in the world. Around one in eight South African adults – more than 4.5 million people – have diabetes. It was these statistics that persuaded the Parliament of South Africa in 2018 to […]
Call on Kenyan Government to Lower Insulin Cost
Key gaps in the affordability and availability of insulin in Kenya have been identified in a study conducted by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH). PATH is active in around 70 counties, including Kenya, with a mission to advance health equity through innovation and partnerships. They say that the cost of insulin in […]
Amendments to Moroccan Finance Bill
PDGN Vice-President, Senator Dr Mustafa Brahimi, is proposing a number of amendments to the 2022 health budget with ideas to help prevent diabetes and improve treatment for those with the condition. Senator Brahimi is amending the country’s Finance Bill as it makes its way towards a final vote by the Commission this month. Brahimi want’s […]
WDD reports continued.
Spain – In Valencia, Spain, an annual event marking WDD took place. The V111 Race Walk took place in Alicante on 14 November. Its aim is to highlight diabetes, promote healthy lifestyles. The walk, or run, is over 5 kilometres and starts in the morning from the beach at San Juan. It was carried out […]
World Diabetes Day 2021
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is marked every year on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Fredrick Banting, who discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. Cyprus – For WDD the Medieval Castles of Paphos and Larnaka, as well as the Cyprus Museum at Nicosia (pictured), were lit blue. The Cyprus Diabetic Association persuaded the […]
Diabetes Makes Africa More Vulnerable to COVID Deaths
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, death rates from COVID-19 infections are much higher in patients with diabetes in Africa, where the number of people with diabetes is growing rapidly. A WHO analysis of data from 13 African countries found a 10.2 percent case fatality rate in COVID-19 patients with diabetes, compared with 2.5 […]
Nigerian Campaign for a 20 percent tax on Sugary Drinks
A coalition of non-governmental organisations, has urged the Nigerian Federal and State governments to place a 20 percent tax on sugary drinks and sugarsweetened beverages in the country. The coalition warned that the lack of excise duties on sugar-sweetened beverages could lead to a spike in the already worsening occurrences of diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, […]
High Burden of Undiagnosed or Poorly Controlled NCDs
A comprehensive health-screening program in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has found a high burden of undiagnosed or poorly controlled non-communicable diseases, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health. Researchers found that four out of five women over the age of 30 were living with a chronic health condition, and that the […]
NCD’s Hit Kenyan Incomes
According to Mutahi Kagwe, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Health, rising cases of cancers, diabetes, epilepsy and sickle cell disease, known as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), particularly in young people are contributing to a decrease of a third in Kenyan household incomes. In July this year, the country embarked on a five-year national strategic […]
Nutrition News
Healthy Food Beyond the Purse of South African Families Healthy food is too expensive for many South African families increasing the risks of poor health from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic respiratory diseases and obesity. These account for over half (51 percent) of all death in South […]
Nigeria – Importance of Foot Care Spelt Out
Increased mortality in patients living with diabetes who have had to undergo limb amputations is well documented, yet Podiatry is often seen as a ‘Cinderella’ part of a health service with limited numbers of practitioners in some countries. Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to foot and ankle surgery where effective management of limb […]
Sudan – Impending Health Disaster Predicted
Strike action by doctors, that would be unprecedented in many western health care systems, is being carried out in sheer frustration at medicine shortages, lack of funding, insecurity and what has been described as an “impending health disaster”? The number of COVID-19 cases combined with existing challenges on the Sudanese health care system has gone […]
COVID-19 and Diabetes
Almost half South African hospitalised COVID -19 patients have diabetes A YEAR of research at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, has determined that people living with diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes, are at risk for more severe Covid-19 complications and have a greater chance of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) […]
Morocco – New Refundable Medications
The Moroccan National Agency of Health Insurance (ANAM) and the Ministry of Health have achieved a new improvement on the health insurance program with 165 new medications that will now be refundable. Morocco has a compulsory health insurance programme. Seventy of the medications are expensive and often prescribed for chronic or severe diseases, such as cancer, […]