Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Healthy Interaction and Eli Lilly Diabetes last Thursday organized a two-day training on diabetes conversation map for nurses in the West Coast Region.
The participants were drawn from both the hospitals and basic health facilities in the region, and it was held at the Parasite Suites Hotel.
The training session was supported by the International Diabetes Federation and Eli Lilly Diabetes.
The goal of the training programme was to provide education to people with diabetes, and to empower them so that they make the behavior change necessary to manage the disease.
Speaking at the opening of the training course at Paradise Suites Hotel, Dr Alieu Gaye President of the Gambia Diabetes Association, who also doubles as the vice-president of the International Diabetes Federation, said 30,000 Gambians are affected by diabetes.
He also spoke of the global situation, and stressed that by 2020 the figure will increase, adding that in
He said the lifestyle of people have been changed in terms of the diet they eat, adding that most of the time people only seat in their offices without engaging in any exercise, which is not good for their systems.
He pointed out that the objective of the training session is to equip the health workers with the relevant knowledge on diabetes, so that they would be able to understand the diabetes conversation MAP education tool.
The director of Health Services, Dr Mamadi Cham, said diabetes is a public health issue, and is on the increase in the country, and the patient rate is also on the increase.
Dr Cham added that non-communicable diseases are a priority for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
He said that is why the Ministry has identified a focal person for non-communicable diseases, and that health workers are important in the delivery of health services, and in providing health care to patients.
“Health workers should increase the knowledge of their patients on diabetes,” he said.
He urged participants to take the training seriously, and to always share the knowledge gained with their patients, both at the hospital and other health facility level.
Kebba Manneh, chief executive officer at the Jammeh Foundation for
According to him, the training would be done in two phases - the first batch of ten health workers will be trained from the hospitals, and the second batch of another ten will be trained from the facilities.
Mr Manneh revealed that, by next month, they would train another 20 health workers in the rural areas.
He also used the occasion to thank the management of Paradise Suites Hotel for hosting the event at no cost and providing food for them as well.
The training was sponsored by the International Diabetes Federation and the main training facilitator was Mrs Marie Bass Gomez a state registered nurse at the Jammeh Foundation for
