Safaricom - 2020 Sustainable Business Report

SAFARICOM 2020 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 66 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS OUR STAKEHOLDERS CONCLUDING REMARKS Health: Non-Communicable Diseases Programme in Garissa County Unlike malaria, typhoid or cancer, Type 1 diabetes is a relatively unknown condition in our Kenyan communities. It occurs primarily in children causing their bodies to stop producing the much needed hormone insulin which the body requires to convert glucose into energy. Because Type 1 diabetes is not particularly well known in Kenya, many people suffering from the condition are often unaware that they have the condition. Working with the Paediatric Endocrinology Training Center for Africa (PETCA) the Foundation did an assessment of counties in need of its consideration. The prevalence of the disease was one indicator for support, but another was whether the county had partners or resources actively addressing the problem. Through this process, Garissa county was identified as having the highest prevalence and was selected as the first county for support. We partnered with the Pastoralist Girls Initiative (PGI) to address the issue in the county. In the first year of the programme, 296 children were enrolled. Children who may have never known what their affliction was until it was too late to save them. The next step was ensuring that the Garissa County Referral Hospital could perform as a beacon of service for these children. Work began in 2019 on the construction of a modern child-friendly diabetes Centre. Over the year 200 children have already learnt the critical skill of self-injecting their insulin, while parents have undergone supportive counselling to empower them with the information to understand the nature of the condition and the ways in which they can support their children through active monitoring an dietary management. Sixty health care workers and a hundred community health volunteers were identified and trained on how to identify, counsel and care for the targeted children. New mother receiving a ‘new mama gift pack’, courtesy of the Safaricom Foundation. Ndoto Zetu Phase 2 After the tremendous impact and success of the first phase of the Ndoto Zetu (Our Dreams) initiative last year, the Safaricom Foundation launched the second phase of the initiative in February 2020. Ndoto Zetu seeks to support individuals who are keen to make an impact in their communities through social investments. Kenyans who wish to participate in the second phase of Ndoto Zetu are required to nominate community projects that are related to education, health, or economic empowerment. Phase two of the initiative builds on the success achieved in the phase one last year, in which 300 projects across 40 counties positively impacted over 52 000 Kenyans. In Phase 2, we received over 4 000 proposals/requests, of which 328 dreams were selected to be realised and these are projected to transform the lives of more than one million Kenyans.