Safaricom Foundation has rallied partners from the government, public and private sectors to invest in the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases in the fight against Type 1 Diabetes, with a main focus on children.
In a forum, which included the Ministry of Health, Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre (DMI Kenya) and Goldstar Kenya; early detection and early screening of diabetes in children as well as creating awareness in children on healthy lifestyle habits were identified as key areas of investment. The public and private sector was encouraged to build capacity in community health workers to enable efficient service delivery in diabetes management.
“The mission of this forum is to share ideas on how to halt and reverse the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through effective multi-sectoral collaboration and partnerships. We want to ensure that Kenyans receive the highest attainable standard of NCD continuum of care that is accessible, affordable, quality, equitable and sustainable. Safaricom’s interest in health is anchored on our adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in our business operations. We have incorporated SDG 3 into our operations which calls for good health and well-being,” said Joe Ogutu, Chairman, Safaricom Foundation.
The partners also committed to commission research that will put together a database of the number of children living with Type 1 diabetes in Kenya.
Globally, NCDs are the world’s leading cause of death, with Kenya standing at 42.8% of deaths annually according to the Kenya Health Information System.
Safaricom Foundation has a KES 42 million Children with Diabetes Programme in Garissa County where about 3,000 children have been screened and 737 children have received free medication including insulin and syringes. The Programme has reached over 60,000 residents of all seven sub-counties of Garissa.