Diabetes which was once viewed as a disease for the rich has in recent times become a major problem in developing countries. This situation has largely been influenced by a change in diet and lifestyles that has resulted in say obesity. As it is today, about 80% of diabetes related diseases in developing countries are recorded among low and middle income earners.
In a bid to raise awareness as well as raise funds for the provision of insulin for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, Safaricom will hold a diabetes walk on 9th July at the Carnivore grounds. The walk is in it’s 12th year and over 10,000 people are expected to take part. The Safaricom Diabetes Walk has grown from a small fundraising event in 2000, when it attracted about 2,000 participants, to over 10,000 participants last year.
In Kenya the diabetes prevalence rate is currently estimated at 3.5 per cent and by 2025, this is expected to have risen to 4.5 per cent. Sadly we have a large number of people dying from diabetes related complications. This is due to the fact that there is a wide gap between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis with many people only realizing that they are suffering from diabetes when it is too late and complications have set in. With the high cost of insulin and other diabetes drugs, management of diabetes thus remains a huge challenge to many.
In its fight against the disease Safaricom has partnered with the Kenya Diabetes Management and Information centre (DMI). Since its launch 15 years ago the centre has been carrying out awareness campaigns that include community screening drives and health talks, training of school teachers and peer educators, as well as provision of insulin kits to children living with diabetes at no cost.
Mrs Muchemi from the DMI centre had this to say, “In the next year, we are planning to train more teachers, peer educators and parents of children living diabetes as part of our continued push to raise awareness especially in rural areas, where stigma surrounding the condition remains relatively high.”
While speaking about the event, Joe Ogutu, Director for Strategy and Innovation – Safaricom had this to say, With the money raised we hope to create more awareness on diabetes prevention, management and care. We want to urge more people to be tested for diabetes, train more teachers and peer educators and reach more children need of the essential medical care that remains out of their reach. Over and above that, we would like to aggressively advocate for a review of the country’s Essential Drugs List to include anti-diabetic medication.”
The Safaricom Diabetes Walk will first take place in Nairobi before heading to Mombasa later this month, and this year targets to raise KES 17 million up from KES 15.8 million raised last year.
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