OUR WORK > CARE PROGRAMS

Chronic Diseases

REMOVING THE BARRIERS TO CHRONIC DISEASE CARE.

Chronic disease is a fast-growing problem in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world, with related deaths expected to double by 2030. Rural populations of low socioeconomic status such as western Kenya face considerable challenges in chronic disease management – barriers we work to remove every day.

As part of our group savings and loan initiative, AMPATH healthcare workers educate group members on health behaviors and conduct screenings for diabetes and hypertension – helping them prioritize and afford the care they need. That kind of early intervention is critical to us being able to help patients manage diabetes, hypertension, mental health, chronic lung disease from indoor air pollution, and more at the AMPATH Chandaria Cancer and Chronic Diseases Center and its mobile extensions.

300,000+

Patients screened for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and mental illness

34,000+

Patients enrolled in chronic disease care

1,000+

Community health workers trained in providing care and education

AREAS OF FOCUS

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DIABETES

Within our treatment area in western Kenya alone, there are already an estimated 60,000 persons living with diabetes, and that number is expected to double over the next two decades. AMPATH currently provides care, education and medication to patients enrolled at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, as well as rural clinics and dispensaries. For those who cannot travel to clinics, community health workers and home-based counseling improve access to testing and treatment.

HEART DISEASE

Chronic cardiovascular and pulmonary disease has become a major burden in East Africa. By building on our response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the past seventeen years, AMPATH is well-positioned to further the understanding of the epidemic of CVPD in the developing world, reduce the burden of health disparities with better screening and prevention, and enhance research tools to share among network participants, so as to quickly impact the current and future lives of East Africans.

MENTAL HEALTH

Stigma and misunderstanding keeps mental health in Kenya in the dark. And we’re fighting every day to change that. In rural communities, we’re training health workers to screen for mental health issues and link patients to care for depression, psychosis, alcohol dependence and more. And at Moi University and AMPATH Consortium schools, psychiatry faculty, residents, and students share their expertise, learn from each other, and push mental health care forward.

YOUR GIFT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

$25

Six months of medication to treat hypertension or diabetes

$50

Six months of labs for an indigent patient with diabetes

$100

Fuel-efficient cooking stoves for 8 households to prevent deadly indoor air pollution

$100

Transportation for mental health nurses and psychiatrists to rural clinics offering mental health services

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LATEST NEWS ON CHRONIC DISEASES

News & Blog Feed

Primary-Health Integrated Care for Four Chronic Diseases (PIC4C) Changes Lives

The Ministry of Health, through Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) and AMPATH, tested the Primary-Health Integrated Care for Four Chronic Diseases (PIC4C) model that integrates early diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, diabetes, breast and cervical cancer into the primary care level supported by a robust and seamless referral system.

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Lilly Donation Provides Needed Medication for Patients in Kenya

Eli Lilly and Company donated more than $66 million in medication over the last two years related to support of the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) partnership to help people in western Kenya living with cancer, diabetes and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.

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Mental Health Program Moves Forward with Your Support

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Interactive Resource Map Assists Kenyans with Disabilities

IU School of Medicine student Mary Ann Etling worked with pediatricians Dr. Eren Oyungu from Moi University School of Medicine in Kenya and Dr. Megan McHenry from IU School of Medicine as well as Moi medical student, Michael Musili, to develop an interactive map of organizations and resources for children with disabilities in Kenya.

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People of AMPATH: Dr. John Lawrence, MD, Cardiologist

Most doctors and other experts will tell you that it is important to stay active in retirement. John Lawrence, MD, and his wife Dale took that advice to heart...literally.

When Dr. Lawrence retired, his bags were already packed. The very next day he and Dale left for Kenya to begin a decade of collaboration with Kenyan and North American colleagues to enhance the cardiac care provided through the AMPATH partnership.

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People of AMPATH: Douglas Momanyi, Clinical Officer

Douglas Momanyi, a clinical officer, has been working for the last nine years seeing clients every day. . The AMPATH Comprehensive Care Clinic was once a clinic where only HIV care and testing was provided. Today, the same clinic serves all chronic diseases.

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