HOPE Centre

In 2011, Project HOPE and Eli Lilly partnered to establish the HOPE Centre. Located in Zandspruit in the outskirts of Johannesburg, the HOPE Centre is focused on educating local communities about chronic diseases - especially diabetes and hypertension, providing clinical services for the treatment and management of the diseases and support through peer group education.

By jointly developing a chronic disease clinic model that is replicable in underserved areas throughout the world, Project HOPE and Eli Lilly are improving the quality of life for those suffering from chronic disease worldwide. By providing access to primary and preventative health care services that are otherwise not available in poor communities, the HOPE Centre model can reverse the growing rate of chronic disease in a community and thereby alleviate an entire country's health care system.

3.5 million people in South Africa are suffering from diabetes. However, this number is in reality much higher since it’s estimated that more than 50% of people are unaware they have the illness and have never been diagnosed. This is one of the major tasks that the HOPE Centre is tackling on a daily basis.

Around 60 people die every day from Diabetes in South Africa. This is according to Statistics South Africa. South Africa does not even feature in the list of top ten countries for Diabetes prevalence, yet the rate of people dying because of the illness on the continent is far higher than in the countries with higher prevalence. Many deaths and complications could be avoided if people went for screening and if people sought health care earlier. South Africa's high death rate is caused by lack of access to insulin and to medical professionals that are specialized in treating Diabetes. But also, numbers would come right down if people had a higher level of awareness and practiced healthier lifestyles.

On November 12^th the HOPE Centre staff organized an event in celebration of the World Diabetes Day. It was celebrated in Zandspruit where there were activities of public awareness of diabetes and hypertension, patients’ education, and demonstrations for residents to test, prevent and manage this life-threatening illness.

About 2,000 patients have been served at the HOPE Centre clinic and 80% of the staff are from the community. Cooking lessons and exercise programs were also presented to the community. Project HOPE has been well received by the community. Residents can go to the clinic for screenings and some are retained in its care, or visited on a monthly basis.