Helping Developing Countries

Suspension of donations of unwanted, in-date insulin and other diabetes supplies

We are always very grateful for the donations of unwanted, in-date and unused insulin and other diabetes supplies, such as needles, lancets and test strips. This has been a great help to people with diabetes in developing countries but during and since the pandemic, we have been unable to send insulin or other items.

However, we have been and still are sending supplies to help people with diabetes in Ukraine, so if you have any unwanted, in-date, unused insulin and other diabetes items, please send them to IDDT or contact IDDT by telephone: 01604 622837 or email [email protected]

Previous Initiatives

IDDT helps poor children and young people with diabetes

Have you any unwanted, in-date insulin in your fridge?
IDDT is the UK arm of an Australian organisation, ‘Insulin for Life’ [IFL]. IFL is a not-for-profit organisation which collects unwanted, unopened, in-date insulin and test strips to send to developing countries as part of a humanitarian aid programme. Details of IFL can be found by visiting www.insulinforlife.org

Here is a true story:

“Kilpana was a 5 year old little girl with diabetes who visited the Nagpur clinic regularly with her parents. One day she was brought into the clinic in a coma and ketoacidosis. Her parents had stopped giving her insulin because they simply could not afford it any longer. In desperation they had resorted to alternative medicine. Kilpana died!”

If children with diabetes have adequate daily doses of insulin, they grow normally and can do things that children without diabetes can do. But if the dose is inadequate, then their growth is impaired and their quality of life is adversely affected. If insulin injections are stopped, they go into coma and this can be fatal.

In developing countries the cost of insulin for one person can be as much as 50% of a family’s income, so one of the main problems for poor families is that find it extremely difficult to afford the insulin and medical treatment for just one child in the family.

Under agreed protocols, IDDT collects and sends unwanted insulin and other diabetes supplies to clinics in developing countries for distribution to children and adults with diabetes who cannot afford insulin and treatment they need to stay alive. IDDT ensures that any insulin and supplies you donate will reach the developing countries in need of our help.

The need is for:

• No longer needed, unopened and in-date insulin [with at least 3 months to the expiry date]
• Syringes, lancets, needles
• Glucose test strips

In 2010 IDDT collected and distributed over 9000 pre-filled pens, cartridges and vials of insulin to those who so desperately need them. All this unwanted insulin totalled a value of over £60,000. This cost is paid for by the NHS and would have gone to waste were it not for the Insulin for Life campaign and the kind actions of those who make the effort to send us their unwanted insulin and diabetes supplies. The sad thing is, this is only the tip of the iceberg, there is far more insulin simply being thrown away that could be used to help save lives.

Please help if you can by sending supplies in a ‘jiffy bag’ or box to:

InDependent Diabetes Trust
PO Box 294
Northampton
NN1 4XS

tel: 01604 622837
e-mail: [email protected]

Thank you, you will help people to stay alive!

Helping people with diabetes living in Uganda

Diabetes Consultation Association (DCA) has been in operation for 16 months. DCA is a non-profit organisation that cares for, treats and educates children and teenagers living with type 1 diabetes. DCA was founded by Masereka Robert who got diabetes at age of 5 years and has thrived with it up to the age of 32yrs.

Currently DCA receives 100 patients per month at its education centre in Kasese district. 55% of type 1 patients now know how to treat themselves. DCA receives insulin from Insulin for Life USA for type1 patients. There are quite a number of people in the hard to reach villages who are suffering from type 1 diabetes and find it hard to reach our centre.

DCA has started an initiative to carry out outreaches to these poor resource settings so that we can help more people survive from this deadly condition. As the director of this organisation, Robert is fundraising to purchase a vehicle to help DCA fulfil this obligation.

The details can be found on the DCA website: www.gofundme.com/helping-diabetics-living-in-uganda

IDDT helping in Ethiopia

IDDT has been helping people in Ethiopia by supplying information to their Diabetes organisation for distribution. They have supplied it to schools so that teachers can educate the pupils about diabetes as well as to children and adults with diabetes.

Here are some photographs of the presentations to the pupils:

News from Tanzania

For the last few years IDDT has been working with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the Tanzania Diabetes Federation (TDA) to provide much needed aid to children and young adults with type 1 diabetes in Tanzania. The TDA started its child sponsorship program in 2005, supported by organisations like IDDT and the IDF, who collect and send on vital supplies, including syringes and blood glucose testing equipment.

The vast majority of families of children with type 1 diabetes live on very low incomes and simply cannot afford to provide adequate food for their children, let alone purchase the insulin and equipment they need. This very often means that parents discourage their children from having daily multiple insulin injections, resulting in high rates of hospital admissions of children with diabetic ketoacidosis. It also means that the children also have HbA1c levels that are very high, thus increasing the risk of developing the complications of diabetes. Add to this the fact that many families cannot afford the costs of travelling to and from their clinic, simply makes the situation even worse.

The sponsorship program was started in 2005 by Dr Kaushik Ramaiya at the Muhimbili National Hospital with just 30 children. Since then the project has continued to expand and now supports 260 children in 5 hospitals. The program has been able to support the training of doctors and nursing staff, as well as develop a comprehensive education program for children and their families. Thanks to this the program has made some major achievements, including:

• A reduction in the incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis.
• A reduction in the number and duration of hospital admissions.
• A decrease in mortality rates.
• A decrease in the number of school days lost.
• An increase in body weight of children with type 1 diabetes.

In addition to building on these achievements, the TDA is looking to secure funding to help towards the travel costs of poor families who need to attend the clinics, further helping to improve their quality of life.
Here are some of the childrens’ stories in their own words:

Evance Mmasi

Age 8

Age 10

My name is Evance Mmasi, 14 years old male. I am the 11th born in the family of twelve. I am in standard three now. Currently I am staying with my elder brother, my parents are in Moshi. They are so poor that they could not afford to take care of my condition because I had recurrent admissions with similar complaints most of the time and no diagnosis was reached. Finally I was diagnosed as having diabetes in October 2005, when I was admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi .Since then I’ve been taking insulin. No one has Diabetes in my family. Insulin was so expensive for the two months I used it. Fortunately my brother was told about this program, I thank you so much for your support. There are other children out of Dar who are facing similar condition like I had. Please extend your support to other parts of Tanzania!

Anita Bulindi

Age 10

Age 15

My name is Anita John Bulindi, I am 15 years old female. I am the second born in the family of three. I have lived with diabetes for 10years; I am in Form Four at Shaban Robert Secondary School.There is a family history of Diabetes (My paternal uncle).In 1999, I was admitted with diabetes ketoacidosis that is when I was diagnosed as having diabetes. Since then I was started on Insulin.Unfortunately I can not afford Insulin and my mother has developed mental illness in 2007. I thank the child sponsorship program, for the help they are giving us. They give us medicines and carry out regular laboratory investigations. Please keep it up.

Mariam Hassan

Age 16

Age 19

I am 19 years old. I am the 3rd born in the family of 6 Children. I have completed standard seven now. I have joined the microfinance program from TDA. I am going to establish small business. I was diagnosed with diabetes in October 2005.No one in the family has diabetes mellitus. My family can not afford to buy insulin, so I have to move all the way from the outskirt of Dar es Salaam to come to this diabetes clinic to get Insulin. At least the transport fare is far cheaper than the cost of insulin. Thank you so much for the support. I wish this support is extended to other areas out of Dar es Salaam so that other children with Diabetes can benefit too.

How You can help:
There are two ways in which YOU can help.

• Perhaps you have recently changed your insulin or equipment and now have supplies that you no longer need – then send them direct to us and we will ensure that they are sent to those that need them.
• Ask for one of our “Look in Your Fridge” posters to give to your doctor and/or nurse and ask them to send us any unwanted insulin or equipment that they have.

InDependent Diabetes Trust
PO Box 294
Northampton
NN1 4XS

tel: 01604 622837
e-mail: [email protected]

Sponsor a child

We would like to thank everyone who has been sponsoring a child at Dream Trust in India. This has been welcomed by Dr Pendsey over many years.

The Bank of India has twice changed the rules for transferring funds from businesses (including charities) in the UK to India and we have struggled to make transfers for a considerable period of time. Unfortunately, we can no longer guarantee that our donations will actually reach the bank account of Dream Trust in India and therefore, we believe that it is only right that we stop the Sponsor a Child scheme from the end of July 2023 when our final payment will be made.