LAHORE: Because of the amazing growth of diabetics combined with the comparatively low level of awareness of the masses, two organizations have taken a groundbreaking initiative called Project Karvaan.
The initiative was started by Roche Diabetes Care in collaboration with DoctHERs. As part of the project, Roche Diabetes Care aims to spread awareness of prevention and treatment among people with diabetes (PwDs). According to studies, the burden of disease is expected to increase 67 percent by 2030 if enough information about diabetes is not made available to the public.
More than 415 million people around the world have diabetes. Pakistan ranks fourth in the world as it has the most diabetics. Most recently, the number rose to 19.1 million – that’s around 17 percent of the country’s total population.
According to the studies, around 45 percent of diabetics in Pakistan are undiagnosed. The Kaarvaan project is a concept based on collaborative education. “This collaboration with DoctHERs is another part of our mass awareness initiatives around diabetes. As part of this initiative, we will train doctors, nurses and female health workers on this disease, how to manage it and how to use a glucometer so that they can equip patients with the knowledge they need to monitor this disease, ”said Roche Head of Diabetes Care Sohail Malik talks about the necessity and importance of the project. As part of this collaboration, Roche Diabetes Care will officially hire about 150 doctors, 12 nurses and 150 LHV as ambassadors for the program and educate mass groups about preventive diabetes management, its treatment, symptoms, early detection and insulin advocacy, use of glucometers and destructive myths. The professional ambassadors would connect with a network of PwDs to promote collective awareness of the disease.
“This awareness takes place on two levels, on the patient level, but first on the level of the healthcare workers. With this initiative, we are therefore seeking to increase the capacity of these doctors to deal with diabetes so that they can educate the patients they interact with on a daily basis, ”said Khaqan Sikander, CEO of DoctHers.
