logo
Science Portal
Copyright © Médecins Sans Frontières
v2.1.5600.produseast1
About MSF Science Portal
About
Contact Us
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Copyright © Médecins Sans Frontières
v2.1.5600.produseast1
Diabetes care in humanitarian settings | Collections | MSF Science Portal
Diabetes care in humanitarian settings

Diabetes care in humanitarian settings

Diabetes affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, a large majority of them living in low- and middle-income countries. Yet finding effective strategies, tools and policies for effectively managing this chronic illness—especially amid war, displacement or exclusion from care—is a neglected area of humanitarian medicine.

Here we present a cross-section of work on this front by MSF and collaborators. Several studies assess the shift towards community-based, nurse-led models of care in rural settings. Others explore obstacles to diabetes care for war refugees living in camps in Jordan or Lebanon, highlighting how health programs can adapt to their needs. The demonstration that insulin retains potency for 30 days if cooled without refrigeration is opening doors to more patient self-management, as a case study in remote South Sudan shows.

At the same time, MSF and others call for regulatory and financing policies that make diabetes medications and supplies cheaper, better adapted to humanitarian settings, and far more available to patients whose lives depend on them.

Collection Content

Journal Article
|
Research

Estimated sustainable cost-based prices for diabetes medicines

Barber MJ, Gotham D, Bygrave H, Cepuch C
2024-03-27 • JAMA Network Open
2024-03-27 • JAMA Network Open
IMPORTANCE
The burden of diabetes is growing worldwide. The costs associated with diabetes put substantial pressure on patients and health budgets, especially in low- and middle-inco...
Conference Material
|
Poster

Evaluating task-sharing for non-communicable disease management in humanitarian settings: lessons learned from MSF’s model of care in Lebanon

Doumit M, Masri S, Beltran I, Incerti A, Ciglenecki I,  et al.
2023-06-07 • MSF Scientific Day International 2023
2023-06-07 • MSF Scientific Day International 2023
Journal Article
|
Commentary

A framework for improving diabetes care in humanitarian emergencies

Kehlenbrink S, Jobanputra K, International Alliance for Diabetes Action
2023-03-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
2023-03-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
Conference Material
|
Poster

Recurrent DKA reduced by home glucose monitoring and clay pot insulin storage in a low resource setting - a case report

Simon M, Seignoux J, Fadumiyo A, Muderhwa Y
2022-11-30 • MSF Paediatric Days 2022
2022-11-30 • MSF Paediatric Days 2022
Conference Material
|
Poster

Decentralization of insulin treatment through nurses and clinical officers in nine health centres in a rural county, Kenya: descriptive study

Borum Mølskov Bech M, Otieno Khisa A, Ndoca K, Ayuaya T, Kajuju P,  et al.
2022-05-09 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
2022-05-09 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
Journal Article
|
Letter

Diabetes and the WHO model list of essential medicines

Reddy A
2022-01-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
2022-01-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
Journal Article
|
Research

MSF experiences of providing multidisciplinary primary level NCD care for Syrian refugees and the host population in Jordan: an implementation study guided by the RE-AIM framework

Ansbro É, Homan T, Qasem J, Bil K, Tarawneh M,  et al.
2021-04-26 • BMC Health Services Research
2021-04-26 • BMC Health Services Research
BACKGROUND
In response to the rising global NCD burden, humanitarian actors have rapidly scaled-up NCD services in crisis-affected low-and-middle income countries. Using the RE-AIM i...
Journal Article
|
Review

Operational considerations for the management of non-communicable diseases in humanitarian emergencies

Bausch FJ, Beran D, Hering H, Boulle P, Chappuis F,  et al.
2021-02-25 • Conflict and Health
2021-02-25 • Conflict and Health
Non-communicable diseases (NCD) represent an increasing global challenge with the majority of mortality occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Concurrently, many humanita...
Journal Article
|
Research

Heat-stability study of various insulin types in tropical temperature conditions: new insights towards improving diabetes care

Kaufmann B, Boulle P, Berthou F, Fournier M, Beran D,  et al.
2021-02-03 • PLOS One
2021-02-03 • PLOS One
Strict storage recommendations for insulin are difficult to follow in hot tropical regions and even more challenging in conflict and humanitarian emergency settings, adding an extra burd...
Journal Article
|
Research

Setting up a nurse-led model of care for management of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in a high HIV prevalence context in rural Zimbabwe: a descriptive study

Frieden M, Zamba B, Mukumbi N, Mafaune PT, Makumbe B,  et al.
2020-06-01 • BMC Health Services Research
2020-06-01 • BMC Health Services Research
BACKGROUND
In the light of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on health systems in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, contex...

See more collections

World NTD Day
World NTD Day

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) impact nearly 1.7 billion people each year, causing serious illness or lifelong disability among many—often leading to stigma and exclusion—and killing an estimated 200,000. The vast majority of sufferers live in the world’s poorest countries.

The World Health Organization’s NTD roadmap 2021-2030 aims to address 20 tropical diseases through prevention, control, elimination, and/or eradication. But despite some progress, reaching all its targets will take better, far more accessible diagnostics and treatments along with more robust strategies, political commitment and resources.

To mark World NTD Day, this collection spotlights work by MSF and collaborators on improving approaches to snakebite envenoming, kala azar and noma. One study presents an innovative artificial intelligence-based snakebite diagnostic tool, while others evaluate shorter, less toxic drug regimens or different models of care. Several commentaries advocate for national/regional strategies adapted to contexts ranging from remote villages to active conflict zones. Another crucial factor is the climate crisis, which is intensifying the transmission and geographic spread of many NTDs.

MSF logo
Advancing Research to Improve NTD Treatments in Children by S...

Dr. Saschveen Singh is a tropical infectious disease advisor for MSF. Read more of MSF's recent work on neglected tropical diseases in pediatric populations, and of Dr. Singh's work at MSF.

Mini-Lab—MSF's simplified bacteriology laboratory for low-resource settings
Mini-Lab—MSF's simplified bacteriology laboratory for low-res...
Resistance to antibiotics is a growing public health crisis, especially in countries with fragile health systems and in regions at war. One key limitation in most of these settings is a lack of clinical bacteriology laboratory capacity, which leaves medical providers without ways to accurately diagnose patient infections and to tailor antibiotic treatment accordingly. To help fill this critical gap, MSF and partners have developed the Mini-Lab—a small-scale, standalone lab that is easy to transport, set up and operate by staff after only a short training. Its six modules are stocked with everything needed to diagnose common bloodstream and urinary tract infections and to perform antibiotic sensitivity testing using methods adapted to extremely hot climates and remote settings. With Mini-Lab now being rolled out to selected MSF projects, here we highlight the background to its development and some of the research behind the bacteriological tests it incorporates.
View All Collections