Doctors with Africa Cuamm attended the first Congresso da Sociedade Angolana de Diabetologia (Congress of the Angolan Society of Diabetology) from July 7 to 9, 2016, organized by Magnagem and held at the Memorial Agostinho Neto in Luanda, Angola.
MINSA, the Angolan Ministry of Health, also took part in the congress, presenting the Ministry’s program for diabetes and its training program for nurses, pharmaceutical companies, and health practitioners.
Representing Doctors with Africa Cuamm were the doctors Eric Lonla, Joseph Nsuka, and Sonia Ezaquiela, who are all working in Angola on the project “Improving Diabetes and Hypertension Diagnosis in TB Patients”. The project’s aim is to diagnose cases of diabetes and hypertension in patients with tuberculosis by screening for both conditions in suspected cases of tuberculosis the primary centers of Luanda.
Doctors with Africa CUAMM was the only NGO participating in the three days of the Congress, with a stand showing the results of the project, funded by the World Diabetes Foundation, and set to conclude in April 2017.
Since the start of the project, run jointly with PCNT (National Program for Tuberculosis Control), 5,800 patients with tuberculosis have been screened in six treatment centers; classes have been given on how to identify and monitor cases of diabetes in patients with tuberculosis in 35 health centers; and a database has been created and is constantly updated with the data collected for the project.
The project’s goal is to study the prevalence of diabetes in patients with tuberculosis, and it attracted the interest of other participants, as we are the only NGO in Angola to address these issues.
