Since 2005, faculty of the Global Diabetes Institute has been involved in teaching medical students and residents at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda's largest medical school. Additionally, the Global Diabetes Institute co-sponsored (together with Makerere University) three symposia on comprehensive diabetes management for doctors and nurses from 20 clinics around Uganda. Doctors at Makerere and elsewhere are struggling to address Uganda's burgeoning diabetes epidemic without formal Endocrinology training, highlighting the need for more specialized training in diabetes management. Dr. Elizabeth Walker of the Institute has also been working with members of the Ugandan Ministry of Health and healthcare providers from health facilities around Uganda to develop educational posters and materials for their patients.
Additionally, the Global Diabetes Institute has recently sponsored physicians from Uganda to travel to Christian Medical College in Vellore, India for an intensive course organized by Prof. Nihal Thomas to promote low-cost, integrated diabetes management in underserved areas. These Ugandan physicians work in an understaffed government hospital in northern Uganda that cares for over six thousand patients with diabetes, many of whom require amputations due to lack of resources and proper diabetes care. Hopefully, through continued education and follow-up by both the CMC and Einstein teams, the Ugandan hospital will be able to establish its own integrated diabetes and prosthesis clinics that could serve as a model for medical centers in other low-income areas.
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(photos courtesy of Gary Goldenberg)