Children living with diabetes in Garissa county are set to benefit from an Sh42.5 million kitty by the Safaricom Foundation.
The sub-counties that are set to pioneer the initiative include Jara, Dadaab and Mbalambala.
Speaking during the event launch held at the Garissa National Library, the Safaricom foundation chairperson Joe Ogutu stated that the initiative was targetted at reducing mortality rates in the region.
“This event is a community-based approach meant to address and manage diabetes in our younger generations. Our goal is mainly to reduce premature deaths amongst our children and the young adults who are living with diabetes," Ogutu said.
He further stated that the fund was targeting to also train at least 30,000 community volunteers to monitor type 1 diabetes in children, sensitise primary and secondary school teachers as well as developing and rolling out a tracking system in the county.
This happens even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that approximately 26 per cent of bed occupancy in Kenyan hospitals consist of diabetic patients with another 50 per cent being kidney patients suffering from type 1 diabetes.
Garissa now becomes the first county to work with Safaricom foundation in a bid to curb diabetes.
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