11 Sep 2019

Ministry of Health and Wellness is committed to the welfare of all the people living with diabetes, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Morrison Sinvula has said.

Speaking at the handover ceremony of the funds raised through the Bank Gaborone Diabetes Apple Project 2019 held in Gaborone on September 10, Dr Sinvula said through their collaboration with the private sector like Bank Gaborone, Diabetes Association of Botswana (DAB) and Tsetseng Retail Group, they were committed to providing world-class diabetes care.

“We provide long term clinical care through our centres of excellence at Princess Marina Hospital, Block 6 Clinic and Donga Clinic in Francistown. Our diabetes centres of excellence, hospitals and clinics have been capacitated to look after patients with diabetes in accordance with minimally accepted international standards of medical care,” he said.

He added that the ministry provided free insulin treatment, free testing strips and free laboratory tests to all the people with diabetes.

He applauded the three organisations  for taking the initiative to complement the activities of the government by taking the services to the people, adding that it was in line with the principle of self-reliance, as the government alone could not manage everything.

In his remarks, Bank Gaborone managing director, Mr Sybrand Coetzee said the project ran for two months, from May 15 until July 15, 2019. During that period, he said a series of activities such as health screening in Molepolole, group support meetings at Princess Marina and sponsored walks in Francistown and Mokolodi were held to bring attention to diabetes.

He said it was the second edition of the project and in the first edition the bank raised a total of P140 000 whereas this year the bank managed to raise a total of P350 000 through soliciting donations from the general public and thanking donators with apples.  He noted that they had two main objectives which were to bring greater awareness to the causes, symptoms and treatment of diabetes and to raise funds to assist the Diabetes Association of Botswana.

He further added that the project had made a difference in the community by increasing awareness of diabetes and encouraging lifestyle changes amongst all Batswana, which could work to reduce the prevalence of diabetes in Botswana.

Mr Coetzee revealed that the apple was chosen because it had been proven to be a great source of fibre that helped to stabilise blood sugar levels, it had a minimal effect on blood sugar levels and does not cause a spike in blood sugar as it also contained compounds could improve insulin sensitivity and reduced insulin resistance.

Chairperson of DAB Dr Dipesalema Joel revealed that the last donation from the project enabled the association to conduct seven diabetes youth camps catering for a total of 590 children and young adults.

He said in addition to running the camps, the funds helped the association to support and care for people with diabetes across Botswana. ENDS