The government of Kenya and Novo Nordisk, a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company, have signed a memorandum of understanding for the supply of medical commodities targeted at improving the treatment and self-care of type 1 diabetes in children.

Speaking during the ceremony, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the program’s long-term aspiration is to not only improve the lives of the children enrolled in the project but to find ways of integrating program components into the country’s health care delivery.

He said the parties have entered into the partnership to utilize their respective competencies and strengths with a view of improving the well-being of people living with diabetes in Kenya through sustainable partnerships and collaborations as well as improve diabetes care for children with type 1 diabetes in the country.

“We welcome you and thank you for the support. Your partnership is important and we value it. We invite you to think about investing in the country in terms of manufacturing,” said the health CS.

To reach more children living with diabetes, Kenya is to establish additional diabetes type 1 clinics and build the capacity of health care workers with Novo Nordisk committing two billion shillings to support the program for the next 3 years.

The two parties agreed on how to Improve and establish infrastructure of diabetes clinics and supply of medical and laboratory equipment, training and education of healthcare professionals working on type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents, provision of human insulin and blood glucose monitoring equipment and supplies at no cost to children and adolescents. They also agreed on educating the children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their families, establishment of a registry for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and the sharing of insights and outcomes to the continuous improvement of the Changing Diabetes in Children Project between the Parties.

In the agreement, the government of Kenya will be obligated to among others progressively integrate the Changing Diabetes in Children program into the national health system as well as ensure that diabetes and more particularly type 1 diabetes is included in the national agenda for non-communicable diseases in line with the sustainable development goals.

Novo Nordisk will in turn be required to provide relevant diagnostic, screening and monitoring equipment to be used for organization and operation of the diabetes clinics, and patient registry, provide free-of-charge human insulin to cover the treatment needs of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents up to 25 years of age in health facilities supported by the CDiC Project.

The company will also be expected to provide support for training of health care professionals in management of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents, support awareness campaigns in collaboration with different stakeholders, support diabetes self-management education for children, adolescents and their families including developing CDiC Project patient education materials as well as support the improvement of infrastructure in some of the diabetes clinics as determined by the ministry of health.

The MoU was signed by Vinay Ransiwal, General Manager and Vice President on behalf of Novo Nordisk and CS Mutahi Kagwe on behalf of the Government of Kenya and witnessed by Danish ambassador to Kenya Ole Thonke.

The Changing Diabetes in Children program was launched in Kenya in 2012 to ensure that children with type 1 diabetes have access to proper treatment and support. The partnership was between Novo Nordisk, Government of Kenya, Roche Diabetes and Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre (DMI). It was established to identify solutions that could lead to an integrated approach to diagnosis, treatment and diabetes control for children living with type 1 diabetes.