Every November World Diabetes Month, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the severity of diabetes. In Rwanda, through the Ministry of Health, its affiliated institutions, partners, and those living with the condition, mark the days with various activities. This year, the Geraldine Trada Foundation commemorated the day highlighting the challenges of young people living with Type 1 Diabetes.
On November 16, 2024,Geraldine Trada Foundation in collaboration with the Rwanda NCD Alliance, and Muhima Hospital organised an event that aimed to create awareness about Type1 diabetes in young people giving details of symptoms, diagnosis, diet, monitoring and management to those with the condition. This aligns with the year’s theme: “Live Well by Preventing Diabetes; Get Tested!”
Mugabo Innocent, a resident of Kicukiro District, has two children who were diagnosed with diabetes. He recalls noticing symptoms such as excessive thirst and fatigue when his daughters were two years and one year old. After misdiagnoses and multiple visits to health centers and hospitals, it was only at Masaka Hospital that tests confirmed diabetes, with the children’s blood sugar levels were very high. Mugabo expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Health which avails free insuline free of charge and support from Geraldine Trada Foundation around management of this condition to both his daughters.
“Apart from advocacy efforts, GTFoundation has been giving some supplies such as test kits and food stuffs that help us make this journey easy of living with this condition of type1 diabetes. Both my daughters have a difficult diet and to follow it is quite expensive.”
Uzabakiriho Jean Damascene, from Kamonyi District, Gacurabwenge Sector, was diagnosed with diabetes at age 14. Unfortunately, the condition led to complications, and he had his leg amputated in 2016. He struggled with misdiagnoses and financial limitations before receiving proper care.
Uzabakiriho commends Geraldine Trada Foundation for helping him deal with his condition by providing test kits and food supplies delivered to him.However, he mentions a challenge of insufficient kits such as an insulin regulator which is expensive to get.
“We appreciate the efforts of the government and its partners such as GT Foundation, however, we request for the insulin to be given to patients at health center level and for Mutuelle health insurance to provide the insulin regulators which are very expensive to obtain in Rwanda.”
As of now, those living with diabetes have to walk long distances to access health care at the referral hospitals. The decentralization of insulin to health centers has not been approved by the Ministry of Health. It is also still costly for poor people to access blood sugar monitors that can be worn on the arm.These monitors are convenient because they don’t require patients to finger prick themselves using needles.
Alphonse Mbarushimana, from the Rwanda NCD Alliance, notes that the government spends resources to invest in providing quality health care to those living with non communicable diseases such as diabetes.However, there is still need to create awareness to the general public about staying healthy and supporting those living with the condition. He noted that while Rwanda has made significant progress in reducing the cost of diabetes treatment, challenges remain.
“Alot has been done to extend health care services to those living with diabetes and I believe we will achieve more as more resources get available through collective effort.”Alphonse notes
Mutesi Tracey Trada, a Rwandan living in the UK, and who founded the Geraldine Trada Foundation in 2019, was inspired by her own child’s Type 1 diabetes journey. While recognizing government efforts to subsidize diabetes treatment, she acknowledged gaps in support, such as transportation, specialized diets, and medical insurance still remain.
“Geraldine Trada Foundation aims to raise awareness about Type 1 Diabetes, reduce stigma, and provide essential support to children and young adults living with this condition in Rwanda.What we do is we try to fill these gaps that challenge patients though our resources are limited, and it sometimes feels like a drop in the ocean,”Ms Mutesi notes.
During this event, a dental health specialist provided awareness around maintaining dental health which is important especially to those living with the condition.Also, Geraldine Trada Foundation distributed food items such as maize flour, rice, beans, porridge flour and hygiene supplies to Type 1 diabetes patients. Research shows that 50% of type 1 diabetes patients lack adequate understanding of the disease.
Health authorities encourage all Rwandans over 35 years of age to get screened at least once a year. A study by the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) revealed that in 2012, the prevalence of diabetes stood at 2.9%, but by 2021, it had decreased to 2.8%.Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s immune system destroys the pancreas’ insulin-producing cells. The collective efforts of stakeholders aim to further reduce this burden while supporting those affected by diabetes.
