Novo Nordisk Changing Diabetes in Children programme extended by three years

Novo Nordisk’s “Changing Diabetes in Children” programme has been extended by three years.
The programmen, which has been running since 2009, provides free insulin, test strips, and glucose meters to children in the some of the poorest parts of the world. More than 13,000 children in Africa and South-East Asia have received help from the programme.
The programme has also seen the establishment of 108 diabetes clinics, and 5,479 healthcare professionals are now trained to provide diabetes care.
The programme is sorely needed. Children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in some parts of Africa are expected to live for less than a year. Novo Nordisk established the “Changing Diabetes in Children” programme in response.
Children signed up the programme receive free insulin, free test strips, and a free glucose meter to test their blood. The children and their families also receive an educational course on type 1 diabetes and practical advice on how to treat it.
The programme has been hugely successful, prompting Novo Nordisk to extend it by three years. In Guinea, around 400 children have been signed up to the programme.
Professor Naby Baldé, project partner at Donka University Hospital in Conakry, Guinea, said: “Before we had the programme for children with diabetes in Guina, the situation was very difficult. Many children diagnosed with diabetes had no access to treatment or stopped it because their parents could not afford buying insulin.
“It’s a 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 in Children” programme was the idea of Lars Rebien Sørense, CEO of Novo Nordisk. When he visited a hospital in Kenya, he met a boy who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and deserted by his parents. Sørensen describes the experience: “It became clear to me that this boy had dire perspectives for staying alive. This is obviously hugely disturbing to anyone that has any way of influencing the situation.”