Q1-10

Advocacy and Action

This Newsletter provides an insight on how the World Diabetes Foundation engages itself at different levels in the fight against diabetes and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In April we co-hosted an international conference on the burden of NCDs in developing countries in partnership with Danida, the Danish International Development Agency, and support from the World Bank Group, NORAD and the NCD alliance. The Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Mr. Søren Pind, addressed the conference along with Mr. Bertel Haarder, the Danish Minister of Health to stress Denmark’s commitment to the NCD agenda. The meeting was attended amongst others by ministers of health from Mozambique and Uganda as well as Dr. Ala Alwan, Assistant Director General of WHO for NCDs and Mental Health.  

Following two days’ of intense presentations and discussions, many of the international participants were unable to leave Copenhagen due to closure of the airspace caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland. The chaos this caused to international air travel served as a useful reminder about the consequences of unpreparedness. Unlike the volcano that erupted suddenly, in public health we have evidence of the huge lava of risk factors for NCDs that is brewing in the global community. And unlike in the case of the volcano we know how to mitigate these risks; we also know that the mountain has been sending smoke signals for quite some time to indicate that something is amiss and needs to be corrected. Yet, like in the case of the volcano we are under-prepared to deal with the issue. Fortunately, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel; as we write this article, there is good news. On Thursday May 13th 2010, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of a UN Resolution introduced by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states calling for a UN Summit on NCDs in September 2011 to be attended by heads of government.

While political decisions and actions will be crucial to how we deal with the consequences of the emerging burden of NCDs in developing countries, people on the ground still need to find a way of dealing with their particular situation. In this Newsletter, we bring patient stories from Kenya, Bolivia and Nicaragua – from individuals who all share a common thread - life of urban poor, in countries whose health care systems are under-prepared to deal with diabetes as a medical and public health issue. In this Newsletter Robert, Julia and Martha also share the proximity to a project supported by the World Diabetes Foundation in their neighbourhood.

I welcome you to read and see how these projects make a difference for people on the ground while policy makers like Hamlet - the Prince of Denmark in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy - continue to ponder “to be or not to be”.

Dr. Anil Kapur
Managing Director
World Diabetes Foundation

International NCD Conference in Copenhagen

The challenges and the way ahead for including NCDs in the global health agenda was the topic of an international NCD Conference organised by World Diabetes Foundation and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Giving a voice to the voiceless

“The majority of people who die silently at home today should not continue to die. Diabetes should be taken care of just like HIV and tuberculosis,” says Robert Maregwa who lives with diabetes in one of Nairobi’s slum areas.   

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The look in your eyes

Like every third citizen in Bolivia, Julia Toribio lives on less than USD 2 a day. Years of untreated diabetes left her blind, unable to work for a living and unable to see her children grow up.

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A great change with few resources

A poor Managua neighbourhood is not a safe place to go for a run. Against such odds and a low income, Martha Pavón has managed to loose weight and improve her HbA1c-level – all because the local health centre made a coordinated effort. 

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