Kenya risk losing World Diabetes Foundation Sh900million funded project as MoH officials feud
Kenya’s children living with diabetes are on the verge of losing the much needed life-saving medication after it emerged the Danish global health lobby, World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) is on the verge of relocating Sh900million programme to neighbouring Tanzania owing to bureaucratic bottlenecks by Ministry of Health (MoH) officials that have jeoperdised implementation of donor-funded initiative, investigations by The Informer Media Group have established.
This comes against the backdrop of Sh3.7billion Global Fund mosquito-net tendering row following bungled procurement process by senior MoH and Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) senior managers that saw president William Ruto sack Health Principal Secretary Josephine Mburu.
Other senior managers at the ministry and Kemsa we also sent packing.
However, Health Cabinet Secretary was not immediately reachable when contacted for comment.
“Yes the donors are contemplating shifting this programme to Tanzania. Some ministry officials are frustrating administrative processes to enable operationalisation of this programme. They have really frustrated this programme. They want the money channeled to the ministry so that they can control the budget but donors cannot channel the monies to the government directly. They can only support the programmes.” Our source intimated.
The programme is among the four WDF supported projects mooted in the first half of 2022, targeting to help young people living with Type 1 diabetes, preventing populations from developing Type 2 diabetes and advancing Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) prevention and care at the national level of government.
The programme is dubbed ‘WDF21-1830 Advancing NCD prevention and control through primary health care, Kenya 2022-2025’.
Out of the four projects, three are based in Africa; Kenya, Guinea, Senegal and Cameroon except for one, a digital health project benefitting youth with Type 1, which is based in Pakistan.
“The projects reflect WDF’s new strategy, with its increased focus on diabetes care at the primary level and primary prevention targeting pregnant women and children. They also reflect the Foundation’s transition toward fewer but larger scale projects.” A programme update by WDF reads in part.
Past records at the Kenya National Diabetes Prevention Control Programme show that an estimated 50 000 to 70 000 Kenyan children are living with type 1 diabetes.
Many children with this condition, which requires daily insulin administration to survive, die before they are diagnosed.
Medics cite late or no detection and inadequate care are some of the greatest impediments in controlling diabetes.
However, since Type 1 diabetes cannot currently be prevented, those diagonised by this condition have to take daily insulin injections and monitor blood sugar level to control the disease.
The World Diabetes Foundation is an independent and non-profit foundation governed by the Danish Foundation Act and based Denmark.
