By Sara Leonard | Development Specialist
The HOPE Centre has been making HOPE happen in South Africa by continuing to fight the rapid spread of diabetes and noncommunicable diseases. On May 17th, the HOPE Centre team drove out to Wildfig Business Park in Honeydew – approximately 20 minutes from their headquarters in Zandspruit – to provide free diabetes and hypertension screenings. Employees in the business park had access to screenings and wellness checks all day. Based on their screening results, patients then received education and referral information to help them better manage their health.
Program coordinator, Tsholopelo Mathebula, said they often detect diabetes among community residents during screening events like this one which is largely attributed to poor diets and lack of exercise.
According to the World Health Organization, noncommunicables diseases, including diabetes, account for 43% of total deaths in South Africa. The HOPE Centre has been working to fight this since its establishment in 2012. As a result, the rate of HOPE Centre patients with controlled blood pressure has nearly doubled in the last two years! This directly reduces the risk of stroke and premature death among our patients, helping them live longer and healthier lives.
A big thank you to donors like you for helping to make these life changes for our patients possible! To learn more about the HOPE Centre, check out our web page and read our blog.
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