The Sunday News
Nobuhle Nyoni Sunday News Correspondent
IF left uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to death and young children with Type 1 diabetes can die within a week after diagnosis.
In many countries, Zimbabwe included, children with diabetes suffer because insulin and other diabetes supplies are unaffordable and at times unavailable.
The chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Diabetes Association (ZDA), Mr Ngoni Chigwana, said many children with diabetes die soon after diagnosis because of a number of challenges.
“In most of the cases children with diabetes die soon after diagnosis. Many others face the burden of diabetes complications which are stroke, blindness, heart disease, kidney disease and amputations,” he said.
He said the programme, Life for a Child, supported the provision of the best possible healthcare, given local circumstances, to all young people with diabetes in Zimbabwe through the strengthening of paediatric diabetes services in hospitals.
The organisation has since received donations from Africa Health Trust in partnership with Phodiso Holdings Limited of South Africa.
“These two organisations have donated the HBA1c reagents kits and DCA Microalbuminuria reagents kits as point of care diagnostic testing to underprivileged children with diabetes in Zimbabwe. This followed an appeal that was made to the International Diabetes Federation Life for a Child Program by ZDA when we attended the World Diabetes Congress in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2013,” Mr Chigwana said.
He said one HBA1c meter would be at Mpilo Hospital and would cater for all the underprivileged children in Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South provinces and Masvingo.
The other meter would be at the ZDA head office in Harare and would be used for the children with diabetes in Harare, Mashonaland Central, West and East and Manicaland provinces.
The ZDA Life for a Child Programme supports close to 400 children in all the 10 provinces with insulin, syringes, glucometers and test strips for self blood glucose monitoring at home.
Last year the association donated 400 meters to test blood sugars at home and testing strips to underprivileged children.
Mr Chigwana said there was a need to conduct clinical studies so as to help in defining the scope of the problem as well as documenting best practice for providing optimal support in resource limited settings.
The International Diabetes Federation Life for a Child Programme offers a vital lifeline to young people in developing countries and has worked with Zimbabwe since 2010.
It provides insulin, syringes, blood glucose meters, and strips or visual strips, education material for young people, capacity building, technical and clinical advice.
Worldwide, around 100 000 children and adolescents with diabetes need support to help them live meaningful lives and are struggling to survive with limited access to Insulin, monitoring supplies, Point of Care Diagnostics and trained health professionals on diabetes in children.
