Diabetes is a growing public health concern in South Africa, with a prevalence rate of around 12.7% among adults (NHI) and it is currently the countries second biggest killer disease. In the Eastern Cape, access to healthcare services remains a significant barrier, particularly for people living in rural areas far from health facilities. Left undiagnosed or poorly managed, diabetes can lead to severe complications such as cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and blindness.

Building on efforts to improve access to chronic care through external pick-up points for medication, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Health (EDoH) has been working to extend the reach of healthcare facilities in some of the province’s hard-to-reach rural settings through setting up and supporting pick-up points where patients can collect medication for diabetes management. Along with these pick-up points MSF’s health promotion teams have been collaborating with community-based organisations (CBOs) to provide close to home screening services in the communities these organisations service. The MSF teams have been working to train CBOs on how to conduct screenings and providing them with health promotion messaging to spread to communities during their activities.

This package will highlight the prevalence of diabetes in South Africa and the challenges and patients face to access diabetes treatment and the struggles healthcare professionals equally face in treating diabetes. In addition, the communication, will also showcase how the collaborative pickup point model and MSF’s health promotion activities look to improve access to screening, medication, and education about Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like diabetes in the communities that make up the Amathole district in the Eastern Cape.