Making diabetes treatment accessible to the most marginalized

Health is essential to happiness. Anera is ensuring that patients suffering from chronic diseases in several of Lebanon’s most under-served and neglected areas receive the health care that they need.

Anera partners with Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC), which is committed to expanding vulnerable people’s access to medicines and improving public health in marginalized communities around the world. Together with local partners like the YMCA in Lebanon, Anera distributes donated medicines to clinics where it is needed most.

Ikhlas Medical Center

Tabane and Tal are two of the poorest neighborhoods in Tripoli, not yet fully recovered from years of intense violent sectarian clashes between armed groups. These are cramped and overcrowded areas. 

Mahmoud Al Ahmad, the manager of Ikhlas Medical Center in Tabane, a local Anera partner, says, “Tabane is one of the most impoverished areas in Lebanon. It’s barely served by the government and lacks services and infrastructure of all sorts, especially for health care.”

Cramped and difficult living conditions combine with poor sewage systems to spread disease in the city.

"We need all the support we can get to help this community,” Al Ahmad says. “Imagine, our humble center serves nearly 120,000 people! Tripoli is neglected by the government and without the efforts of international organizations and charities like HPIC, Anera and the YMCA things could get catastrophic.”

Anera’s 2019 needs assessment of Lebanon found that ensuring access to diabetes medicines is a high priority. Metformin is an expensive yet essential oral diabetes medicine prescribed to help control blood sugar levels. Not only does metformin relieve symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, it also stabilizes blood pressure and can help treat other diseases such as obesity, hormonal fluctuations and gestational diabetes.

At Ikhlas Medical Center, metformin is provided free-of-charge to thousands of vulnerable patients in Tabane. Staff and patients at the center say the provision of metformin at no cost is making a positive difference in the lives of people here.

“It is a relief! That is the best way to describe it,” says Fatima Helwe, a pharmacist at the center.

“It is a relief for us as a charitable medical institution and it is a relief for our patients who, more often than not, ignore their pain because they cannot afford treatment.

“As a pharmacist, I feel my community’s gratitude every day when they pick up their prescriptions without charge. We are saving lives here — Anera, your donors, the YMCA — all of us, we are saving lives.”

As if to echo Helwe’s point, Mohammad, a 53-year-old Lebanese patient from Tripoli, says,

“I was constantly in pain. I would faint frequently. I kept ignoring it. I convinced myself that I was just getting older.

“When I finally went to the center at my children’s insistence, I discovered that I had diabetes. The doctor suggested that I start taking metformin. A few months in, I started noticing the results.

“I am much more energetic now. I move more and sleep less. When the doctor told me that I do not need to pay for this medicine, I didn’t believe him! I want to thank the center and everyone behind this. You are giving me a new beginning.”

Another patient, Fatima, a 53-year-old Lebanese grandmother from Tripoli whose positive attitude lights up a room, says,

“I have high cholesterol. I started taking metformin last month to treat my dizziness and dehydration. I couldn’t even stand properly. I had to stay at the center for a few months, and that was a little costly — but thank god I did not have to pay a lira for my medicine. I am back home now and I plan to go back to work soon. I’m a tough woman!”

Makarem Al Akhlak Medical Center

The Makarem Al Akhlak Medical Center, founded in 2015, is another local Anera partner. The center is an inclusive space, welcoming patients from all nationalities. Makarem is smaller than Ikhlas but still serves 40,000 patients, providing an array of medical services, including emergency care, general check-ups and specialized treatments.

Fadi, a 46-year-old Syrian refugee living in Tripoli, is a patient at the center. Fadi says,

“My father did not have diabetes. Neither did his father. I am 100 percent sure that the war in Syria is what got me sick! It’s the sadness, my body couldn’t take it anymore.

"I was diagnosed with diabetes seven years ago. I used to feel light-headed almost all the time. I was always tired. I just wanted to lay down forever. I was on medication in Syria, and then again here, but I wasn’t getting better. Then a friend told me that Makarm offers a diabetes medicine without charge.

“I’m not saying I’m cured from diabetes — I know that won’t happen — but I’m back on my feet. I haven’t felt this good in a long time!”