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It is estimated that some 38,000 African children ages 14 and younger have type 1 diabetes. Sick children are particularly vulnerable in poor countries. A child in sub-Saharan Africa diagnosed with type 1 diabetes has a life expectancy of less than one year. A child with the same condition in the developed world has the possibility to live a full life. Fortunately, a health care company, Novo Nordisk, is helping to improve those odds by offering diabetes care, including free insulin, to 10,000 children in some of the world's poorest countries. The five-year program, called "Changing the Future for Children with Diabetes," will begin in 2009 with an initial rollout in Uganda, Tanzania, Guinea-Conakry and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "The premature death of a child caused by lack of insulin is unacceptable, when a lifesaving solution is available. We must work together across borders to keep these children from dying; this is why I welcome this new program being launched by Novo Nordisk today," says Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, president-elect of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The program will be based on a hub-and-spoke concept (satellite centers around existing hospitals/clinics) aimed at building long-term solutions for improving availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of diabetes care for children with type 1 diabetes. "As a diabetes care company, we have an obligation to use our resources and expertise to help these children," says Lars Rebien Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Novo Nordisk A/S. "This project will not only provide insulin free of charge to an extremely vulnerable group, it is also designed to build long-term solutions for insulin distribution and sustainable diabetes care for all people with diabetes in the world's poorest countries." To this end, the project's aim is to collaborate with as many local partners as possible, including governments and diabetes associations, regional chapters of the IDF and key opinion leaders. Efforts to improve the health care infrastructure of participating countries will also help the program to survive after the project period ends. "The World Diabetes Foundation is committed to funding capacity building, awareness creation and development of sustainable infrastructure within existing structures to improve the care for children with diabetes in developing countries. We will work with Novo Nordisk and other relevant stakeholders to achieve this objective," says Anil Kapur, managing director for the World Diabetes Foundation. The program was announced in connection with the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For more information, visit www.novonordisk.com. The future may be changed for poor children with diabetes who live in developing countries. A five-year program will offer free care. A program is reaching across borders to provide help for poor children with type 1 diabetes. www.HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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