Kenya, Novo Nordisk in deal to ramp up support for children with diabetes
Kenya, Novo Nordisk in deal to ramp up support for children with diabetes
Kenya together with Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical multinational have inked a deal to supply medical supplies targeted at improving the treatment and self-care of type 1 diabetes in children.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the program’s long-term aspiration is to not only improve the lives of the children enrolled in the project but to find ways of integrating program components into the country’s health care delivery.
CS Kagwe said the parties have entered into the partnership to utilize their respective competencies and strengths with a view of improving the well-being of people living with diabetes in Kenya through sustainable partnerships and collaborations as well as improve diabetes care for children with type 1 diabetes in Kenya.
“We welcome you and thank you for the support. Your partnership is important and we value it. We invite you to think about investing in the country in terms of manufacturing,” he said.
To reach more children living with diabetes, Kenya is to establish additional diabetes type 1 clinics and build the capacity of health care workers with Novo Nordisk committing Kes2 billion to support the program for the next three years.
The two parties agreed on several issues including; how to improve and establish infrastructure of diabetes clinics and supply of medical and laboratory equipment, training and education of healthcare professionals working on type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents, provision of human insulin and blood glucose monitoring equipment and supplies at no cost to children and adolescents.
Read also: Kenya to benefit from WHO, Gavi Sh18.5 billion malaria vaccine funding
They also agreed on educating the children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their families, establishing a registry for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and sharing of insights and outcomes for the continuous improvement of the Changing Diabetes in Children (CDiC) Project between the parties.
In the agreement, the government of Kenya will be obligated to progressively integrate the Changing Diabetes in Children program into the national health system as well as ensure that diabetes and more particularly type 1 diabetes is included in the national agenda for non-communicable diseases in line with sustainable development goals.
Novo Nordisk on the other hand will be required to provide relevant diagnostic, screening and monitoring equipment to be used for organization and operation of the diabetes clinics, and patient registry, and provide free-of-charge human insulin to cover the treatment needs of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents up to 25 years of age in health facilities supported by the CDiC Project.
Further, the company will be expected to provide training to local healthcare professionals in the management of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents, support awareness campaigns in collaboration with different stakeholders, and support diabetes self-management education for children, adolescents and their families including developing CDiC Project patient education materials as well as the improvement of infrastructure in some of the diabetes clinics as determined by the ministry of health.
The Changing Diabetes in Children program was launched in Kenya in 2012 to ensure that children with type 1 diabetes have access to proper treatment and support.
