News in Brief
Japanese firm predicting 7 per cent increase among people with diabetes requiring a Kidney transplant. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Health-Care/Japan-s-Nipro-pumps-1bn-into-doubling-output-of-artificial-kidneys Patient criticism in Nigeria over high cost of treatment and lack of government policies. https://punchng.com/diabetes-patients-lament-lack-of-govt-policy-high-cost-of-treatment How some young type 1 South Africans successfully campaigned for a health insurer to offer a continuous glucose monitor benefit. A great advocacy example. […]
News From Around the Globe Continued: A Month Without Insulin
The difficulties obtaining insulin, testing strips and medicines are not unique to the Sudanese hospital we reported about in our last issue. The stock of injections for diabetes patients has been exhausted in the Landikotal District Hospital in the Khyber tribal district of Pakistan. Hospital sources reported in the local press have claimed many people […]
Academic Partnership with Diabetes Africa
Nigeria’s University of Abuja has entered into a partnership with Diabetes Africa, to address the dearth of diabetologists and other health care professionals who play a critical role in the study and management of diabetes. The hope is to establish a network of health professionals through a diabetes educational programme aimed at improving the quality […]
WHO Recognition for PDGN V-P
President of the Moroccan Parliamentary Diabetes Group and a Vice President of PDGN, Dr Mustafa Brahimi has been involved in a programme for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases including diabetes, the taxation of sugary drinks and universal health coverage. His work has been recognised by the World Health Organisation in its report: “WHO […]
Sugar Tax News: Double Call in South Africa
The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), an NGO, has called on the South African Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, to double the country’s health promotion levy. South Africa introduced the health promotion levy – commonly known as the sugar tax – in 2018. It currently adds about 11 percent to the cost of sugary beverages to help […]
World Diabetes Day Report continued
Kenya A Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre event partnered with the Ministry of Health, Novo Nordisk and Roche was used to highlight the burden of Diabetes in the country and the plight of people living with diabetes. Held at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi the event majored on the role nurses and other health workers […]
Not Just People with Diabetes at Increased Covid Risk
In a major study in Spain, researchers have concluded that abnormally high blood sugar may worsen outcomes and mortality rates for Covid-19 patients, including those without diabetes. The findings show patients with abnormally high glucose levels were more than twice as likely to die from the virus than those with normal readings. 11,000 non-critically ill […]
Congo First
UK diagnostics innovator Glyconics has won an £85k UK government grant to implement low-cost diabetes screening in developing countries. The start-point is the Democratic Republic of the Congo which has the fifth highest incidence of the condition in Africa. The initial six-month programme deploys Glyconics’ pioneering handheld diabetes screening device backed by grant aid under […]
Malaysian MPs Battle for Bigger Budget
Kuala Kedah MP Dr Azman Ismail and Jerlun MP Mukhriz Mahathir have called for bigger allocations in Budget 2021 to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes. They claim that NCD’s cost the economy nearly RM9 billion ($2.2 billion US) and that over 1.7 million people, or 8 per cent of the adult population, have […]
South Africa: Diabetes Behind South Africans Increasing Risk of Vision Loss
Loss of vision due to diabetic eye complications and age-related visual conditions is on the rise in South Africa. Diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that damages the blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye, is the leading cause of vision loss globally. The number of people with diabetics in South […]
Benefits of Soybeans in Type 2 Prevention
A leading nutrition expert has urged Nigerians to explore soybeans as a good food source, to alleviate malnutrition and achieve good health. Professor Ibiyemi Olayiwola, Professor of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), described soybeans as an excellent source of protein, with the added advantage of being affordable. She noted that […]
Nigeria
Besides Covid-19 where cases approach 60,000 and over 1,000 deaths, Nigeria has a huge burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Covid statistics actually paint an impressive picture for a nation of 200 million people with a comparatively weak health system. The country is suffering from another health crisis that hardly came in the limelight. The […]
Zimbabwe: Nurses Behind Better NCD Management
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are estimated to account for 31% of total deaths, with diabetes, hypertension and asthma as the main killers in Zimbabwe. The country has been facing a number of challenges most notably in the health sector. Healthcare workers are overwhelmed and doctors, especially in rural areas, are scarce. Millions of Zimbabweans are disconnected […]
Africa News Special
High Blood Pressure and Diabetes top Covid Killers in Africa A World Health Organisation (WHO) analysis of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in 14 countries across Africa found that hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma are the comorbidities most associated with Covid-19 deaths. In Kenya, around half of Covid-19 deaths were of people with NCDs while in […]
News From Around the World
Morocco The Moroccan Diabetes League celebrated World Diabetes Day in the city of LAAYOUN in southern Morocco. Advocacy Action: Start planning now for World Diabetes Day 14th November 2020. Malta Thanks to campaigning MPs, an €800,000 investment will see 2,000 Type 2 diabetes patients on the Island, who previously paid for their insulin, receive it free […]
More News From Around The World
Morocco – PDGN Vice-president Mustafa Brahimi MP reports that the Moroccan Diabetes Fighting League is organising the 8th National Symposium on Diabetes and Nutrition, Diabetes Morocco 2019 at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, on July 5th and 6th. 2019. The event will be organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Moroccan Society of […]
PDGN Patron, the Hon Judi Moylan OA reports from Australia on a number of wins with the Government.
The Government has approved funding of over AUS $9 million to rollout a program in schools for children with Type 1 diabetes alongside other announcements in the Australian Government Budget 2018/19 including AUS $125 million for heart and diabetes research. Judi is working as co-chair with Professor Paul Zimmet on the Implementation Reference Group who were […]
Focus on Africa
The theme of this year’s World Diabetes Day was ‘The Family and Diabetes’ and organisations collaborated across the continent to mark the occasion and promote prevention, diagnosis and treatments. Here are just a few brief examples. A three day conference at the Ibn Tofeil University in Kenitra city, Morocco, was held. PDGN Vice-President Senator Mostafa […]
SUGAR TAXES?
Do sugar taxes change the behaviour of consumers? There is evidence on both sides but one development that is welcomed is how the taxes change the amount of sugar manufacturers add to their products, even those who market zero sugar alternatives. The UK is the latest country to introduce a sugar tax following a long […]