This year, the World Health Organization has named diabetes as the primary health concern for World Health Day on April 7th, 2016.
Diabetes is a chronic non-communicable disease impacting millions of people, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Diabetes and other chronic illnesses are prevalent in the places where Anera works. Anera programs address education and treatment of diabetes in refugee camps and poor communities in Palestine and Lebanon.
In Lebanon, the Palestinian population is disproportionately affected by chronic illness. In fact, Palestinians are nearly twice as likely to have a chronic illness than the Lebanese population. Among the Palestinian refugee population world wide, UNRWA has determined that the prevalence of diabetes is “dangerously high.”
Anera’s expert staff works with local organizations and communities to educate people about risk factors and provide treatment for those who need it. Learn more about how our health program works to #beatdiabetes in the videos below.
Health is a Right: Cities Changing Diabetes
Anera’s health and in-kind manager, Dima Zayat, talks about the challenges to public health in Lebanon. She discusses the social, economic and environmental determinants that lead to chronic illness like diabetes in this video produced by Cities Changing Diabetes.