On October 5 last year, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF), in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDoH), launched a new project in Butterworth to improve the health of local residents.
Being the first non-communicable disease (NCD) project in South Africa, it aimed at improving, detecting, and managing non-communicable diseases.
According to data from the ECDoH, NCDs like diabetes and hypertension are responsible for half of all deaths in the Amathole District, with a big percentage of the deaths being the age group over 50. Even though MSF is known for providing health care during catastrophic humanitarian events around the world, focusing on non-communicable diseases and those living with chronic diseases who can no longer rely on stable and accessible healthcare, is just as important, explained MSF Country Operations Manager, Camren McAravey.
Data from the Department of Health indicates that more than 65 percent of adults with diabetes in the province don’t receive any treatment for the disease. Patients from the Amathole district face many challenges to get the necessary healthcare, and to get to healthcare facilities.
They often have to travel long distances on foot because of unreliable public transport, and the lack of roads. Sadly, due to these challenges, a lot of patients experience complications because their diabetes and hypertension are not being managed well.
Project Medical Responsible for the project in Butterworth, Dr Jan Krisna Rodriquez who joined the project on March 11, stated that this project is unique within MSF as they are not delivering the services, but working together with the Department of Health to support them in their work.
“The project in the Eastern Cape focuses on improving quality of healthcare and on access to health care for people with chronic diseases, with focus on non-communicable diseases. In collaboration with the provincial DOH, we aim to bring in or pilot new tools and ways of working that will bring more efficient healthcare closer to people at clinic and community level, especially for those living in the deep rural villages. We are also supporting the DOH with identification, registration, and refurbishment of some PUP’s so people can pick up chronic medications closer to home, but we also aim to take it one step further by advocating to have some basic services at the PUP level; this includes screening for HIV, TB, blood pressure and glucose monitoring, MH screening, and health educational sessions.”
According to Rodriquez, people in the province and rural villages are not always aware of the preventative aspect of diabetes, so this collaboration with the DOH is important to ensure the health of patients in the Amathole District affected by these diseases..
For more info, visit the MSF Southern Africa site https://www.msf.org.za or contact the donor care team via their email address at donorservices@joburg.msf.org.
