88
Global Compact International Yearbook 2013
Persons with type 1 diabetes must adhere
to daily injections of insulin to replace
the insulin that their pancreas is unable
to produce. Self-discipline – including
sticking to a balanced diet and monitor-
ing blood glucose levels – is essential
to preventing dangerously high or low
blood sugar levels. On top of all this,
persons with type 1 diabetes need to
make sure they get regular exercise.
For a child with type 1 diabetes, parents
and healthcare professionals are essential
to support their health and well-being.
But in many parts of the developing
world, this support is hard to come by.
As the world leader in diabetes care, Novo
Nordisk saw a need to leverage its compe-
tences and responsibility to take action.
In 2009, the company launched the
Changing Diabetes® in Children program
to improve the lives of childrenwith type
1
diabetes in developing countries. In
March 2013, the program surpassed its
2015
goal of enrolling 10,000 children.
Today, thousands of children are receiv-
ing the support and treatment they need
to live normal, healthy lives.
Diabetes in children
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong disease that
often occurs at a young age, and its preva-
lence is rapidly increasing in children
and adolescents in many countries. The
International Diabetes Federation esti-
mates that there are 490,000 children
under the age of 15 years with type 1
diabetes in the world. Around half of
them live in developing countries.
In the developing world, there is a high
mortality rate for those with childhood
diabetes. In sub-Saharan Africa, the life
expectancy for a child with newly diag-
nosed type 1 diabetes is typically less
than one year.
Barriers to proper care for children
in developing countries
Diagnosing type 1 diabetes is the first
crucial step. But in the developing world,
healthcare professionals are lacking
awareness about the symptoms that can
lead to neglected cases or misdiagnosis.
In many cases, the symptoms of type 1
diabetes in children resemble symptoms
of common acute medical conditions en-
countered inmany developing countries,
such as cerebral malaria.
For the family, having a child diagnosed
with diabetes can bring an overwhelming
financial and emotional burden. The cost
of necessary treatment and care often
exceeds a family’s annual income. In
some cases children are abandoned by
the family as they are forced to make the
difficult choice between feeding their
other children and using the income
on treatment.
Unfortunately, lack of awareness and
the cost of treatment are not the only
barriers. Great distances and insufficient
travel options in rural areas make it dif-
ficult for families to seek medical care.
Medical facilities, when reached, are
short of medical equipment, supplies,
and cold-chain storage for insulin.
To bring down the barriers, healthcare
professionals require better knowledge
about diagnosing and treating diabetes
in children, care facilities must be acces-
sible and well supplied, and insulin and
Changing the lives of
10,000
children
Novo Nordisk
Living with type 1 diabetes is challenging – even more so for children in developing countries,
where having diabetes puts their lives at even greater risk.
By Scott Dille and Camilla Crone Jensen, Novo Nordisk