Novo Nordisk Extends Programme for Children With Diabetes in Developing Countries

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk Extends Programme for Children With Diabetes in Developing Countries

PR60147

BAGSVAERD, Denmark, Apr. 14, 2015 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

Today, Novo Nordisk announced a three-year extension of its Changing

Diabetes(R) in Children programme. Since 2009, free insulin and access to

diabetes care have been provided to more than 13,000 children in nine countries

in Africa and South-East Asia. During the five years, 108 diabetes clinics have

been established and 5,479 healthcare professionals have received diabetes care

training.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7496851-novo-nordisk-children-with-diabetes

A child in sub-Saharan Africa diagnosed with type 1 diabetes often has a life

expectancy of less than a year[1]. As a response to this situation and as a

call to action by the International Diabetes Federation, Novo Nordisk

established the Changing Diabetes(R) in Children programme.

The idea originated from a visit to a district hospital in Kenya by Lars Rebien

Sorensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk. At the hospital, he met a Masai boy diagnosed

with type 1 diabetes who had been deserted by his parents at a highway and

taken to the hospital by some passers-by. "It became clear to me that this boy

had dire perspectives for staying alive," says Lars Rebien Sorensen. "This is

obviously hugely disturbing to anyone that has any way of influencing the

situation."

In Guinea, almost 400 children have been enrolled in the programme: "Before we

had the programme for children with diabetes in Guinea, the situation was very

difficult. Many children diagnosed with diabetes had no access to treatment or

stopped it because their parents could not afford to buy insulin," explains

Professor Naby Balde, project partner at Donka University Hospital in Conakry,

Guinea. "It's great progress for the children and their families; they will no

longer have to choose between providing food for the family or treatment of one

child."

The Changing Diabetes(R) in Children programme will run until 2017 in order to

consolidate the work that has been done and to strengthen the sustainability of

the programme in each country.

1. Beran, Yudkin, Diabetes care in sub-Saharan Africa, 2006

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673606697043

About Changing Diabetes(R) in Children

The programme is run as a private-public partnership between Novo Nordisk,

Roche, the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD)

and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF). In each country (Cameroon, Democratic

Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, Bangladesh and

India), the programme is implemented by a group of local partners with the

national Ministry of Health playing a key role to ensure that the programme is

anchored within the existing healthcare system.

Being part of the programme means that each child receives insulin free of

charge along with strips and a glucometer to measure his blood sugar levels.

But since type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition which needs to be monitored

closely, insulin does not do it alone. Therefore, patient education for

children and families and training of healthcare personnel is an essential part.

Further information     

Charlotte Zarp-Andersson     

+45-4442-7603     

czpa@novonordisk.com

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120911/559804 )

Source: Novo Nordisk

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