Novo Nordisk has extended its Changing Diabetes® in Children program for another three years, according to a company announcement. Since 2009, the company has provided free insulin and access to diabetes care to more than 13,000 children in nine countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. In addition, 108 diabetes clinics have been established and 5,479 healthcare professionals have received diabetes care training.

 The program is run as a private-public partnership between Novo Nordisk, Roche, the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF). In each country that is part of the program : Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, Bangladesh and India, the program is implemented by a group of local partners with the national Ministry of Health playing a key role to ensure that the program is anchored within the existing healthcare system.

 Each child in the program receives free insulin along with strips and a glucometer to measure blood sugar levels. Patient education for children and families and training for healthcare personnel also is an essential part of the program, since type 1 diabetes is a condition that requires careful, ongoing monitoring.

 The high mortality rate of children with type 1 diabetes in underdeveloped countries and a plea for help from the International Diabetes Federation prompted Novo Nordisk to start the program.

 The Changing Diabetes® in Children program is scheduled to continue until 2017 in order to consolidate the work that has been done and to strengthen the sustainability of the program in each country, according to Novo Nordisk.

 Source: Novo Nordisk