Life-saving diabetes program in limbo as state funds fall through
Every week, dozens of diabetics gather at a home in the Boeng Kak lake neighborhood to have their weight, blood sugar levels and blood pressure checked. They are among 12,000 impoverished people across the country taking part in the NGO MoPoTsyo’s peer support program, which allows them to self-manage their diabetes at a fraction of the cost of visiting a doctor. A further 600,000 people have been screened for the disease by peer educators such as Meach Lina, a diabetic who runs the weekly meetings and refers patients who require treatment to a doctor who receives subsidies from the NGO. “Before they come to us, they do not know how to take care of their health,” she said. “We teach them how to manage their food and exercise and how to use the medication.” Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes accounted for 46 percent of deaths in Cambodia in 2008, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization. …
Holly Robertson and Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/life-saving-diabetes-program-in-limbo-as-govt-funds%E2%80%88fall-through-62063/
