Protesters march to make fighting diabetes affordable

Millions of people living with diabetes in South Africa and other low-income countries face rising treatment costs and limited access to insulin pens.

The rising cost of diabetes management sparked protests against global pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk as the world marked Diabetes Day yesterday.

Fighting diabetes must be affordable

A collective of civil society organisations led by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are calling for the continuation of human insulin production pens and calling insulin manufacturers to make insulin pen injection devices more affordable.

Novo Nordisk recently notified an international humanitarian aid organisation and other stakeholders that it would soon discontinue the production of human insulin pens.

MSF campaign coordinator Christa Cepuch said the gathering was a call for the company to end its double standards in diabetes care and reduce the cost of insulin pens.

“Novo’s decision to halt the manufacturing of human insulin pens is a blow to people living with diabetes,” Cepuch said.

She said the decision to prioritise profits over saving lives had affected many people.

“People with type 2 diabetes are struggling to access semaglutide, an essential medicine. The supply is being prioritised for high-income countries, where semaglutide is part of standard diabetes care,” said Cepuch.

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Disease often overlooked as an “invisible enemy”

Janice Barnes, who has battled type 1 diabetes for 43 years, supported the call for more affordable diabetes medication.

“People think it’s easy to manage, but it’s not. There are many other conditions that can develop and they often get overlooked because doctors mainly focus on HbA1c levels,” she said.

“While my health has improved, I’m concerned about the rising costs of diabetes medication, especially with Ozempic.” Barnes also emphasised the need for insulin for survival.

Siyabonga Zuma, who was diagnosed with diabetes at 12 years old, said diabetes was an “invisible disability”.

“It requires constant management. Every emotion, whether stress or excitement, can affect my sugar levels,” he said.

Diabetes currently affects 4.2 million people in South Africa.

Dr Patrick Piotie from the University of Pretoria highlighted the pressure this places on the health care system.

He said the health system’s focus on communicable diseases, such as HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, and malaria has made it challenging to manage noncommunicable diseases like diabetes.

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