It took experiencing a situation where the healthcare available felt scarily inadequate to truly internalize the medical privilege I have enjoyed throughout my life. My time in Senegal put the hardship of diabetes in perspective and helped me truly appreciate the resources that I have. Read more
For me, I hid myself for more than 10 years. I would have rather died than have someone find out I was diabetic. I did that because of misinterpretations from many people due to lack of knowledge about it. I had to tell my mom that no one should know that I’m diabetic unless it was necessary. As a result, those few who knew came up with a lot of their own interpretations about it. I was told many times that traditional herbs would cure me completely. Obviously, none of those worked and I am still diabetic today. Read more
It is World Diabetes Day (WDD), which is the highlight of Diabetes Awareness Month. We asked our supporters if this month was a time of celebration or mourning. Most chose celebration, but quite a few chose mourning. It was a bit of a trick question to be honest, as most of us will have a mix of emotions today.
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‘Pamoja’ is a Swahili word that means together. This was the underpinning spirit of the advocacy training. Pamoja advocates worked together on education-focused advocacy goals throughout the training. Goals are country-specific, but similar enough that sharing and support can happen between all the advocates from each of the five countries. Read more
Health care in Morocco is inadequate, so living with diabetes is a major handicap for some families. Illiteracy and poverty are huge barriers to a healthy life with the condition. The government and responsible organizations do not provide enough support to patients in terms of medicine or education. Read more
Living with diabetes is very difficult in Burundi. Most of the population is poor, so it is difficult to get medicines and equipment. The average income of one type 1 patient is 100 USD and they can spend the average of 30 USD per month for medicines only. This does not include the cost of appointments and other types of care. When you live in rural zones, it is even worse. It is hard to get regular insulin and when you get it, you face the problem of not having a refrigerator to keep the insulin cool. Read more
I am not as strong as before, but I made a promise to make the lives of people with diabetes more comfortable. If I don't get the help I need, at least I know my advocacy will help someone in Kenya with diabetes to get better medical care, affordable diabetic supplies and 100% government support. Read more
For a person who gets a minimum wage here, if you sum up everything and do not have insurance, you can be spending at least 40% of your income on diabetes each month. That was my experience before moving to the city to attend university. Read more
Sixteen organisations have signed an open letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the incoming Director-General of the World Health Organization. The letter, penned by T1International, praises his attention to diabetes and requests that more focus is put on access to insulin and treatment for everyone living with diabetes around the world. Read more
Recently, I was lucky enough to attend Camp Waromo, a four-day diabetes camp hosted by the Sonia Nabeta Foundation (SNF), a wonderful organisation working to ensure that everyone with diabetes in Africa has access to medicine and support they need. T1International was honoured to be invited and to share our advocacy resources and knowledge. Read more