The World Diabetes Foundation has worked in Cambodia since 2005 with the purpose of raising awareness of diabetes among the lay population and improving the quality of and access to treatment for people with diabetes. The Foundation’s program's operate across the country and the majority of its projects have taken a comprehensive approach to diabetes prevention, focusing on: “Training of Trainers” - training health care providers and peer educators, operating a health fund established to facilitate access to pharmaceuticals for patients with diabetes (especially for the poorest), and raising awareness about diabetes nation-wide.
Up to now, hundreds of peer educators have been trained in self-management, counseling, coaching and training of others with diabetes, and are now operational at 10 health centres in Ang Roka district and 4 other districts of the Takeo province (Bati, Daunkeo, Kirivong, and Prey Kabass). Equipped with a kit to use in their health centers, peer-educators provide community members living with diabetes reliable information about managing the disease. Patients are thereby assisted to become informed consumers of health services, including health insurance covering their needs.
More than 22,000 consultations have been made by the diabetes clinics and it is estimated that more than 80 thousand people have been screened with urine strips, detecting hundreds of new cases of the disease. Many patients attending the diabetes clinics have regular follow-ups and the majority have shown significant improvements in their health status.
Furthermore, poor patients diagnosed with diabetes are assisted by MoPoTsyo’s Equity Fund in paying their medicine, transport, lab test etc. The existing drug revolving fund (DRF), established to facilitate access to medication for registered patients with diabetes and HBP through contracted pharmacies has been also expanded. This will create further revenue for financing and sustaining the peer educator network.
