Kenya companions with Novo Nordisk to struggle towards diabetes

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NAIROBI, April 27 (Xinhua). The Kenyan Ministry of Health teamed up with Denmark-based pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk on Tuesday to launch the country’s affordable insulin initiative for diabetes care as the world marks 100 years of insulin use.

Ephantus Maree, director of the NCD prevention department at the Ministry of Health, said given the economic vulnerabilities facing many of the patients living with diabetes in the country, the affordability initiative aims to meet key goals such as ensuring affordable insulin supplies Reaching out to patients and ultimately reaching more people with quality care and treatment.

Maree said the initiative will also empower people with diabetes to better manage their condition while strengthening the capacity of healthcare workers to address the diabetes management challenge.

“The government is working to strengthen county data collection through the Kenyan health information system to improve diabetes care and intervention,” he said during a virtual meeting in Nairobi.

Maree said that since Kenya has 552,400 adults (20-79 years old) with diabetes and is one of the pilot countries for iCARE’s affordability pillar, the initiative offers a unique opportunity for the country to capitalize on much-needed partnerships with the private sector.

The framework, which marks the next stage in Novo Nordisk’s intervention in diabetes, has also brought on board 13 county governments and a consortium of other organizations, including supply chain organizations, implementation organizations (faith and county government) and several other allied organizations.

The initiative is a collaboration agreement to improve access to diabetes care in Kenya and introduces new long-term ambitions to provide vulnerable patients in several countries with access to affordable diabetes care.

The initiative is also looking for ways to deliver diabetes treatment and insulin to patients by leveraging pre-existing supply chains, healthcare facilities and the public sector.