Diabetes

Project HOPE empowers health care workers and communities to effectively prevent, detect, manage, and treat diabetes.

Every five seconds, a person dies due to diabetes complications. Yet the majority of these deaths are preventable.

By 2030, more than 10% of the global population is expected to have diabetes, a noncommunicable disease that affects people of all ages. As the crisis worsens, Project HOPE is build the skills of health care workers and empower individuals to better manage their own health.

For more than 20 years, we have collaborated with ministries of health and local partners in countries where we work implement effective diabetes programming and policies to help encourage people to be their best selves.

Click here to learn more about 5 Steps to Self-Care program.

Project HOPE volunteer in Puerto Rico
After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Project HOPE partnered with the University of Puerto Rico to establish a solar-powered, island-wide cold chain to ensure uninterrupted access to medicines including insulin. Photo by Jose Rodrigo Madera for Project HOPE, 2017.

Our key approaches include:

  • Training health care workers and diabetes educators, both in-person and through innovative online distance platforms.
  • Implementing evidence-based patient self-management education, involving both patients and providers, to improve treatment adherence and promote behavioral changes.
  • Increasing early detection among people who have or are at-risk of developing diabetes through community screenings and providing referrals for care.
  • Raising awareness among family members and communities on diabetes and healthy behaviors to help prevent and manage the disease.
  • Reaching high-risk populations, including school children and women with gestational diabetes, with tailored programming.

Our Impact

Project HOPE’s 5 Steps to Self-Care course has successfully improved health outcomes and diabetes knowledge among people living with diabetes in the UAE, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

In the UAE, participants in the program saw a 10% reduction in HbA1c levels, compared to a 4% increase in the control group. Participants in Puerto Rico and Mexico also saw reduced HbA1c levels, while all groups reported an improvement in their quality of life.

In Mexico, Project HOPE is empowering young people through the AstraZeneca Young Health Program to practice healthier habits and empower others in their community. Through the program, Project HOPE is training hundreds of peer educators to reach out to their communities with messages about NCD prevention and how to adopt behaviors that prevent the spread of diabetes and other diseases.