Insulin my Life - Project

Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE), in collaboration with the Health Promotion Foundation (HPF), pioneered the concept of multidisciplinary care teams in Pakistan's diabetes landscape. Their collaborative study with the Diabetic Association of Pakistan and the WHO Collaborating Center revealed alarmingly high complication rates among Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) patients in Pakistan, attributed to factors like lack of education, poverty, and insulin accessibility. To address the insulin shortage, a memorandum of understanding was signed between DAP and Eli Lilly Pakistan in 2008, facilitating insulin donations to non-affording T1DM patients Recognizing the need for standardized care, BIDE, World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), and DAP launched the "Insulin My Life" (IML) project in 2010, establishing clinics, providing medical supplies, and conducting awareness campaigns.

Over 2000 non-affording patients received free consultations and supplies, while extensive community education initiatives were undertaken, including teacher sensitization and media campaigns. The Life for a Child program extended support to IML in 2011.With the collaboration of Health Research Advisory Board, BIDE has initiated the Diabetes Registry of Pakistan (DROP) to quantify the national disease burden, with IML contributing data and research abstracts. Notably, T1D subjects from IML excelled in international competitions, showcasing the project's impact. Prof. Asher Fawwad received travel grants from ISPAD, enhancing expertise in T1D management. Ongoing research aims to evaluate IML's influence on complication outcomes, setting new milestones for future improvements