The Ministry of Health (MOH) has kicked off a two-year program
aimed at spreading diabetes care and education to benefit the 30
million who suffer from the disease in China.
Organized by Project HOPE (Health Opportunity for People
Everywhere), an American non-profit organization, and co-sponsored
by the American companies BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) and
Eli Lilly, and the Swiss company Roche, the campaign is an
extension of the China Diabetes Education Program (CDEP), which
started in 1998.
The CDEP, which offers comprehensive diabetes training to
local-level medical and healthcare providers, has so far
established 800 local hospitals and community care centers and
trained nearly 37,000 medical workers.
It has also helped about 170,000 people suffering from diabetes,
according to Project Hope.
The new project will establish model diabetes centers in Beijing
and Shanghai in conjunction with the People's Hospital of Beijing
University, Zhanlanlu Central Hospital and Ruijin Hospital.
Wang Longde, vice-minister of health, said the program would
create "a practical and replicable community care model for the
rest of the country" and "a mode for community diabetes management
that is suitable for China".
A leading international organization devoted to sustainable
improvements in healthcare, Project HOPE first came to China in
1983, when it facilitated a series of training sessions for medical
professionals.
In 1996, the MOH approached the organization, informed it of the
grave situation of diabetes in China at the time and said they
"needed to do something about it," said John P Howe III, president
and CEO of Project Hope.
Thus the CDEP was born.
It would not have succeeded without help from sponsors and
leaders at the highest level of government, Howe said, noting that
former president Jiang Zemin applauded the program in 2001.
"Diabetes is becoming the biggest epidemic of our time. With
more than 30 million people with diabetes in China alone, it poses
countless challenges," said Sanjeev Johar, a regional officer with
Roche.
According to a WHO estimate, three-quarters of the 30 million
diabetes patients still do not know they have the disease, which is
why more community healthcare is needed, Kathleen Wishner, a senior
medical director with Lilly involved with the program, told
China Daily.
(China Daily June 7, 2007)