Sanofi and MoH implement programme on access to diabetes care

Sanofi is strengthening its long-standing commitment to access diabetes care in low and middle-income countries and underserved communities worldwide through a series of innovative partnerships with healthcare authorities in countries where comprehensive care has not previously been widely available.

In April 2023, Sanofi signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Health of Ghana.

Under the MoU, Ghana’s healthcare authorities can purchase affordable high-quality Sanofi analogue insulin products.

The partnership also provides for the deployment of diabetes management solutions at diabetes centres in Accra, Sunyani, and Tamale where healthcare professionals benefited from a targeted medical training programme.

In addition, Sanofi will co-develop a digital solution to help physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and community healthcare workers better support more than 5,000 people living with diabetes in Ghana.

Since its signing in 2023, the following concrete actions have been achieved:

• Successful completion of the mentorship programme for 80 general practitioners (GPs) achieving an impressive 98% completion rate.
• 170 nurses, pharmacists, and dieticians are currently undergoing the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) training in diabetes education.

The next achievements will concern the patients’ digital solution and the implementation of KiDS (Kids Diabetes in School) programme to enhance prevention and disease awareness.

Bernard Okoe Boye, the Minister of Health, highlighted the benefits Ghana will accrue from the partnership.

“I am glad to see that the partnership’s implementation is effective with concrete achievements. Our objectives are to enhance awareness and promote early diabetes diagnosis. This will be achieved through better and more widely available training for healthcare professionals, but also via digital solutions that will improve diabetes management.

“The Government of Ghana has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals that underpin the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and broader, more affordable access to diabetes care will help us in this. We are particularly pleased that Sanofi will join us in these efforts.”

The Sanofi General Medicines Affordable Strategy Lead, Stephane Gokou, also expressed the commitment of the company to help improve access to care for diabetics.

“Our ambition to deliver better care and improve the quality of life of those living with diabetes knows no borders. We see this as a shared responsibility with healthcare systems, and we are committed to fully playing our part. In this context, we are proud to work closely with the Ministry of Health in Ghana.

“Both parties are committed to doing a regular follow-up to achieve all the objectives and challenges so that we build on a strong start.”

The joint approach in Ghana, which Sanofi intends to mirror elsewhere over time, comes as people in Africa are expected to experience the highest increase in diabetes globally. The number of people on the continent suffering from the disease is forecasted by the International Diabetes Federation to rise by 129% from 24m to 55m by 2045. Under-diagnosis is also widespread with an estimated 54% of people living with diabetes undiagnosed. IDF estimates suggest 329,200 adults in Ghana have diabetes, the majority being Type 2 while an estimated 2,551 children and adolescents (0-19 years) are living with Type 1 diabetes.

The partnership in Ghana aligns with the affordable access pillar of Sanofi’s approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The CSR strategy is one of three major elements of the company’s multi-tiered approach to social impact.

This also includes Sanofi Global Health, a non-profit unit aiming to increase access to healthcare in the lowest-income countries, and Foundation, the Sanofi collective dedicated to philanthropy.