On November 13th and 14th, the newly built Kigali Convention Center, lightened up the city in blue, the color of unity against diabetes.

It has become a regular “rendez-vous” for different organizations and individuals to celebrate the World Diabetes Day in Rwanda every November, and the event has become more and more vivid with new partners joining the activities and awareness campaign each year. Together with the Ministry of Health represented by the Rwanda Biomedical Center, WHO Rwanda, the City of Kigali, students’ associations, and other partners, Rwanda Diabetes Association celebrated the World Diabetes Day and launched the campaign on 6th November which will end on 10th December.

The activities in progress are spread all over the country during the month of November; they include physical activities, media awareness, lighting Kigali Convention Center in blue, screenings (BMI, waist circumference, eyes pressure and glaucoma, blood pressure, blood sugar, diabetes education) in different locations as detailed on the following mapping of the World Diabetes Day events. The size of the activities differs from one place to another, what is common is that thousands of people attend to get screened and perform guided physical exercises. For instance Kigali, the capital of Rwanda hosted alone 6 events. 

Non-health sectors, government institutions, private sector, youth groups, religious groups, businesses, etc. are also involved. Especially the media is playing a crucial role in spreading the word about the World Diabetes Day campaign and have responded in large numbers. Over 5 public and private television stations and 8 radio stations have broadcasted information and reports about the activities and various newspapers have published articles that raise awareness about the campaign.

The campaign started with the monthly event of Kigali Car Free Day on 06th November 2016, with sport and exercise, provision of medical checkup activities including screening of diabetes, heart diseases, eye diseases, BMI, waist circumference, health promotion materials about diabetes and NCDs. In addition to the screening and awareness activities, in collaboration with Ministry of Local Government it is planned to talk about diabetes on the last Saturday of November during “Umuganda” (monthly community works attended by all Rwandan residents). The talk will focus mainly on community checkup for early detection and treatment. Throughout the blue month groups of people living with diabetes celebrate the World Diabetes Day in partnership with their home districts’ hospitals.

On this year’s agenda was the “Blue half-marathon” but given the time it requires to prepare, it has been rescheduled to the next World Diabetes Day campaign as a signature of the World Diabetes Day in the following years. The Blue Half Marathon aims at improving the understanding and knowledge of diabetes in the Rwandan population and showing the importance of exercise in combatting diabetes as a preventive measure to reduce the risks of developing diabetes in the long run. The next World Diabetes Day campaign will use the Blue Marathon in future for different themes as it attracts local and international media and competitors from Rwanda and abroad.

By Crispin Gishoma/Rwanda Diabetes Association.

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For more information, please contact:

Mr. Jean Bosco GASHEREBUKA, HPR, e-mail: gasherebukab [at] who.int (gasherebukab[at]who[dot]int)
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Photo 1: Kigali Convention Center lightened in blue to support the World Diabetes Day
Photo 2: Regions covered in the Diabetes campaign
Photo 3: 06th November 2016, NCDs screening, Kigali City
Photo 4: Diabetes screening