The Ministry of Health has intensified efforts to enhance diabetes prevention and management services across the country.
The move is aimed at improving access to quality healthcare for Kenyans living with diabetes.
Speaking during a consultative forum between the Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Dr. Ouma Oluga, and representatives from the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), the PS emphasized the government’s focus on integrating diabetes prevention, early detection, and treatment within the primary healthcare system, allowing Kenyans to access screening and treatment closer to home without relying solely on referral hospitals.
The meeting brought together key stakeholders to review progress, share insights, and explore strategies for enhancing diabetes care at the community level.
Dr. Oluga commended the World Diabetes Foundation for its long-standing collaboration with the Ministry in combating diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Kenya.
He further encouraged partners to design sustainable strategies and mobilize resources to ensure long-term impact, noting that strengthened partnerships and coordinated efforts are critical in addressing the growing burden of chronic illnesses.
Dr. Oluga expressed appreciation to the World Diabetes Foundation and all partners for their continued collaboration and reaffirmed the government’s dedication to building a resilient health system that promotes wellness and protects families from the impact of NCDs.
The forum was also attended by Dr. Gladwell Gathecha from the Ministry’s Division of Cancer and Non-Communicable Diseases (DCNCD), alongside Dr. Nancy Ngugi from the Diabetes Management and Information Centre, Dr. Catherine Karekezi of the NCD Alliance Kenya, Dr. Jesse Njuguru from Medtronic Labs, Dr. Josphat Samoei of PATH Kenya, and Jane Muthoni from the Kenya Defeat Diabetes Association.
A draft UN declaration to eliminate trans-fatty acids from global diets risks inadvertently denying the world’s poorest the nutritional benefits of milk and meat, experts have said.
The new declaration to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like heart disease and diabetes proposes to eliminate all trans-fatty acids from global diets.
However, while research shows that industrially produced trans-fatty acids contribute to NCDs, those found naturally in animal-source foods at low levels are not harmful and may even offer health-protecting benefits, such as preventing type two diabetes.
Writing in an open letter to UN negotiators, more than 115 signatories from Africa, Europe and the Americas said: “The risk of a blanket commitment to eliminate all trans-fatty acids is that it unnecessarily discourages the consumption of highly nutritious dairy, meat and other animal-source foods. And once again, the burden will fall heaviest on low- and middle-income countries, where nutrient-rich meat, milk and dairy are already under-consumed.”
Poultry is sold in the seafood area of Nghia Tan market in Hanoi (photo credit: ILR/Chi Nguyen).
The letter, which was coordinated by the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), was endorsed by the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR). It was also signed by experts representing the UN Committee on World Food Security, theGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous Peoples (WAMIP).
NCDs disproportionately impact developing countries, where obesity and diet-related disease in adulthood are closely linked to undernutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. In 2023, one in every five Africans faced hunger and around a third of children under five were affected by stunting.
Animal-source foods like meat and milk are energy-dense and a rich source of high-quality proteins and micronutrients, including Vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, calcium, zinc and iodine. Research has found that a child who drinks milk daily can grow up to three per cent more in a month than a child who does not, yet average annual milk consumption can be as low as just 1kg per person per year in some developing countries.
“A single glass of milk is among the most affordable, nutrient-rich foods available — milk has been shown to reduce stunting in children and lessen the burden of hunger,” said Namukolo Covic, nutrition expert and ILRI’s Director General’s Representative to Ethiopia.
“Industrially-produced trans-fatty acids come from food processing, a sector that is still in its infancy in many African countries. These countries have the opportunity to create a new food future as their food systems transform. These food systems must transform towards eliminating industrially derived trans-fat.”
The draft resolution is currently under review with member states with a final draft due to be presented for endorsement at the UN General Assembly in September.
In the meantime, countries will gather in New York from July 14 to 23 for the UN’s High-Level Political Forum, which will assess progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) among others.
“The contribution of animal-source foods to trans-fatty acids is very low compared to industrially derived trans-fats and should be weighed against their contributions to nutrient density, given their nutritional benefits even in small quantities,” said Ruth Oniang’o, Professor in Food Science and Nutrition and Editor-in-Chief of the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development.
“For people in low-income settings, animal-source foods are often the only reliable and available source of essential nutrients, we need a nuanced approach supported by sustainability solutions.
“UN negotiators must ensure this resolution recognizes the distinction between the large amounts of trans-fats of industrial origin and the low levels naturally occurring in animal-source foods.”
Kenyans have been called upon to prioritize regular medical check-ups, particularly for diabetes, as part of the broader fight against the country’s rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
Speaking during an interview, Agnes Limo, Vilcom Networks CEO emphasized the importance of early screening and routine health monitoring to promote a healthy life.
“Diabetes often goes undetected until it’s too late. We urge Kenyans to prioritize their health by going for routine medical check-ups. Awareness is the first step in prevention,” Limo said.
She noted that Kenyans cannot continue to ignore the rising burden of lifestyle diseases urging that focus need to be more on the prevention rather than the treatment.
“We cannot ignore the rising burden of lifestyle diseases. Public awareness campaigns like these are necessary to shift focus from treatment to prevention,” she added.
Speaking at the same event, Fridah Wanza, the Marketing Manager, said Vilcom was committed to supporting national health campaigns through active corporate Social responsibility participation and advocacy.
“As a company, we recognize that strong communities start with healthy people and hat is hy e are pushing for proper screening ,” Wanza said.
She added that many people unknowingly live with diabetes and urged the public to make health screenings a regular part of their lives.
“We are encouraging Kenyans to adopt routine screenings to improve their quality of life and avoid preventable health crises,” she said.
According to a report, on a global scale, over 14 million people between the ages of 30 and 70 die every year from NCDs and 85pc of these deaths are in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) where a majority of the world’s population live.
The human and economic burdens of NCDs, especially in LMICs, are not sustainable and they are a threat to development.
In Kenya, NCDs contribute to over 50pc of inpatient admissions and 40pc of hospital deaths and so NCDs consume a substantial proportion of the health-care budget taking away funds from other development needs.
The 2013 out-of-pocket health expenditure in Kenya was about 45pc of the total expenditure on health.
China is encouraging qualified hospitals nationwide to establish weight management clinics to achieve near-complete coverage of such services by June 2025, health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement, jointly released by China’s National Health Commission (NHC) and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, noted that the initiative will cover all general hospitals, children’s hospitals and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals under these two authorities, as well as those under provincial-level governments in China.
Major hospitals are encouraged to set up obesity prevention and control centers to provide in-patient weight management services, while healthcare institutions at the primary level should provide education, follow-up and health management services, and optimize referral processes, the statement said.
Hospitals are also encouraged to adopt internet technologies, artificial intelligence and wearable devices to improve their services, the statement added.
These weight management clinics will adhere to classified management and offer personalized services to the elderly, children, pregnant women and patients with chronic diseases, among other key groups, according to the statement.
China’s push for nationwide weight management clinics is an active response to the public health challenge posed by people that are either overweight or obese — conditions which have significantly increased the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disorders among Chinese people.
A 2020 NHC report revealed that overweight and obesity rates of Chinese adults had exceeded 50 percent, while nearly 20 percent of Chinese children and adolescents aged six to 17 were obese.
