Healthcare costs


Chronic diseases: a growing problem in developing countries


Diabetes care in Nicaragua: results of the RAPIA study

Nicaragua, located in Central America, is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. Around half of its population of 5 million people lives on less than 1 USD per day. Nicaragua is facing a growing burden of non-communicable diseases. In 2000, the Ministry of Health reported that the leading causes of death were heart attack, stroke, perinatal death (foetal and new-born) and diabetes. In 2002, deaths due to chronic diseases represented 37% of the total; deaths due to communicable diseases fell from 14.5% in 1985 to less than 5% in 2002.

Advocating for the rights of people with diabetes in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked, largely mountainous country, bordering Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and is therefore sometimes referred to as ‘the Switzerland of Central Asia’. But the dramatic beauty of its snow-capped mountains and Alpine gorges hides a terrible potential for destruction: heavy winter snow often leads to spring floods, provoking serious damage in valleys and lowlands.

The Jaipur Foot: an effective low-cost prosthesis for people with diabetes

In people with diabetes, optimal management of their condition, regular examinations, the use of adequate footwear, and education are the best strategies to prevent diabetes-related foot problems, such as ulceration. If foot problems cannot be prevented, these should be treated as early as possible. However, in many cases, some degree of amputation of lower limbs cannot be avoided. In people who undergo a major amputation, artificial limbs are required to enable them to continue normal daily life.

The IDF Task Force on Insulin, Test Strips and Other Diabetes Supplies: promoting access to care for everyone with diabetes

The BD commitment: diabetes education for all

Eli Lilly - our vision: support for all people with diabetes

Diabetes monitoring in developing countries


Global access to and availability of insulin

The first practical use of insulin by Banting and Best in 1921 heralded a medical revolution. Overnight, type 1 diabetes went from being a uniformly fatal disease to a manageable disorder. Thousands of people around the world have received awards for surviving 50 years on insulin – some reaching 80 years. Insulin is classified by WHO as an essential drug. Yet, 85 years after its discovery, untold thousands of people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes in developing countries die each year because they can neither readily access nor afford insulin.

Aftermath of a disaster: an eye-witness account from Sri Lanka

At 7.59 am local time on 26 December 2004, a mighty earthquake rocked the floor of the Indian Ocean just northwest of Sumatra, triggering a series of large and powerful tsunamis that killed nearly a quarter of a million people – 168 000 in Indonesia alone. The tsunami decimated towns and cities from Indonesia, Thailand and the north-western coast of Malaysia to Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, thousands of kilometres away, and as far as Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa.