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5 – Food insecurity
A fundamental part of managing diabetes is also managing your diet and therefore your blood sugar. However, when food may be in short supply or events such as conflict have caused the cost of everyday staples to rise, for example in Yemen, maintaining regular meal times and reliable portions can become incredibly difficult.
6 – Needles, syringes and waste
Along with access to the insulin itself, the problem of finding and providing the necessary set of tools, such as needles, syringes, and monitoring devices, can be challenging. Even with a reliable supply, keeping these vital items clean and disposing of them safely is also difficult, especially for patients who have been forced from their homes or are now living in refugee camps or displaced persons.
7 – The myth of the refrigerator
In many places, daily temperatures can far exceed the recommended storage range for insulin. Normally, insulin is stored in a refrigerator, but this is a problem when a person does not have one, either due to poverty, limited energy, or because they have been forced to leave their home. Instead, patients will often make multiple trips a day to get to a healthcare clinic, costing time, money, and potentially their safety. However, from experience, we know that simple alternative storage solutions (such as basic clay pots) can provide a way to maintain cool, stable temperatures to store insulin for some time.
8 – The cycle of complications
When a person going through a humanitarian crisis cannot control their diabetes, the long-term risk of serious complications, such as kidney failure, heart disease, and vision loss, increases significantly. And, when such conditions reach the point of needing urgent medical attention, the availability of specialized and emergency care may not be easily accessible. Leaving diabetes untreated becomes a vicious cycle, resulting in more complicated conditions that need more advanced treatments, but are even less likely to be available in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.
