More than 100,000 screened for NCDs in Boehringer's campaign

A leading drugs manufacturer has announced the results of its public health campaigns on diabetes and hypertension in Bungoma and Nairobi. 

Boehringer Ingelheim said through its Kuza Afya programme in Bungoma County, more than 70,000 people were screened for hypertension and 40,000 for diabetes between January and December 2019.

Its Tiba Yako project in Nairobi, implemented the same period, enrolled 1,435 patients in Mukuru slums.

KuzaAfya is a diabetes and hypertension care programme designed to work with communities and healthcare workers through education, screening and care.

“Hypertension and diabetes prevalence rates are still very high in Nairobi and Western Kenya regionsm," said Simon Manyara, Product Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim Sub-Sahara Africa.

"However, through Kuza Afya and Tiba Yako we were able to identify the key challenges on the ground being lack of awareness on the diseases and access to healthcare services especially in the grassroots and low income areas."

He said the two programmes helped bridge this gap by equipping more clinics with basic diagnostic kits so as to test as many people as possible and link patients with the right management to avoid any complications occasioned by late diagnosis.

Kuza Afya was implemented in partnership with the AMPATH Consortium comprising of multiple North American academic institutions led by Indiana University, and partners with the Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.

The programme also trained over 500 community health workers and 57 clinical officers and nurses on identification, prevention and management of the two conditions, the company said.

It also opened a supply line for medicines to more than 5,000 hypertension and diabetes patients.

Tiba Yako is a digital service model for diabetes and hypertension care mainly in Nairobi.

The programme was rolled out last year by Boehringer Ingelheim in partnership with Pharm Access mainly targeting people living in slum areas and other informal settlements in Nairobi.

Under the Tiba Yako programme, patients were screened and directly supported through awareness programmes, access and adherence to diabetes and hypertension care.

The programme enrolled over 1,435 patients in Nairobi in one year, who continue to access care for hypertension and diabetes routinely.

During the roll out, seven clinics were selected to support treatment for the patients diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes. The health facilities were also equipped with basic diagnostic kits and care protocols and offered mentorship for quality care.

The programme registered patient adherence of 48 per cent, which is higher than the projected 27 per cent, the company said.

Tiba Yako is anchored by M-Tiba, a digital payment platform for healthcare which was developed by PharmAccess and partners.  

The two programmes are part of Boehringer Ingelheim ‘In Reach Africa’ programme.

The programme was launched last year in Kenya and later rolled out in  Nigeria and Ghana, targeting people with non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and stroke.