BUTTERWORTH – TO commemorate World Diabetes Day on 14 November, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) Southern Africa showcased some of its successes and the life-changing impact of the Eastern Cape non-communicable diseases (NCDs) project in Butterworth.
For many living in the Eastern Cape, especially in places like Butterworth, managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension means travelling hours for a check-up or to collect lifesaving medication. To make treatment more accessible, MSF has been supporting the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDoH) since 2023 in improving care for NCDs like diabetes and hypertension.
In the Amathole District, nearly two-thirds of people with diabetes are not receiving treatment. This silent crisis is costing too many lives, as diagnosis often comes too late and access to treatment is simply too difficult.
To address this, MSF has established four external medication pick-up points (PUPs) in rural communities, allowing patients to collect their chronic medication closer to home.
One of the success stories highlighted this year in the NCD project is that of 48-year-old Nomawetu Matyumza, a widow with three children who is living with diabetes, hypertension and HIV. Matyumza was diagnosed with diabetes in 2006 after the loss of her mother, after experiencing extreme weight loss and painful sores in her mouth.
“MSF helps us a lot because people in our community stopped their treatment because they don’t have money to go to the clinic and the clinic is so far,” Matyumza said.
She expressed her gratitude towards the ECDoH, MSF, and partner organisation We Care for their support and education on lifestyle choices, treatment and the pick-up points they provide to the communities for diabetes and hypertension, ensuring that no one is neglected and that every community member receives the treatment they deserve.
“People always think that when you say they must exercise, they think that they must go to the gym, but exercise is doing work at home, like working in the garden, cooking outside, and walking long distances to the shops, clinic or schools,” Matyumza said. “I want to thank MSF and We Care for working together to provide treatment and create the pick-up points, bringing treatment to the rural areas, to us. Now we don’t have to travel long distances to reach the clinic or wait in long queues at the clinic. You just collect your treatment and go.”
She also expressed her thanks for centres that provide food for the community, ensuring that no one has to take treatment on an empty stomach.
Matyumza believes that if the Department of Health can support the NGOs and community health workers in conducting awareness campaigns in communities and schools about diabetes – this silent killer that is claiming too many lives in the Eastern Cape – it will help people better understand the disease and learn how to live with it.
To support MSF’s medical efforts, visit www.msf.org.za/donate and help Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams. #PutHumanityFirst.
