The South African Diabetes Association (SADA)

The South African Diabetes Association (SADA)

Diabetes South Africa is a non-profit organization, funded in 1969 to be a support and an advocate for all people with diabetes in South Africa.

MISSION STATEMENT
Promoting Diabetes care and support for all.

ORGANISATION

Diabetes SA has a National Office in Johannesburg and 8 branches around the country.

Branches are run primarily by volunteers drawn from the ranks of the membership base.

Our branches have a strong network through linkages with over 100 smaller local branches and support groups in South Africa.

OUR WORK INCLUDES

• Informing, encouraging and supporting all people who have diabetes and their families.
• Acting as an advocate for people with diabetes, lobbying for better facilities, cheaper medication and better services.
• Promoting public awareness of diabetes, its symptoms and risks.

Diabetes SA is a member of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), which represents 146 diabetes organisations in 121 countries. Diabetes SA representatives are intimately involved in a number of working committees on this prestigious body.

Diabetes SA has working relationships with -

• University medical departments
• State and provincial health departments
• SEMDSA (Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of South Africa - for doctors specializing in diabetes
• DESSA (Diabetes Education Society of South Africa) for specialist health care workers
• CDE (Centres for Diabetes and Endocrinology) An association of private medical practitioners and other diabetes related healthcare workers
• Non-government organizations working in related fields within the primary health care sector.
• Industry, including pharmaceutical companies and other companies servicing people with diabetes.

Diabetes SA is primarily a volunteer organisation and relies heavily on people with diabetes and their families who pool their talents, share their knowledge and experiences and give of their time to help each other.

You too could be a great organizer and get everyone off on a big walk or you may, equally valuable, be a friendly face at the end of a hospital bed.

Call your nearest Diabetes SA branch and see where you may be able to assist others with diabetes

Diabetes is any of several disorders characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood and increased urine production. Diabetes insipidus is a disorder characterized by increased urine production caused by inadequate secretion of vasopressin by the pituitary gland. Diabetes mellitus is either of two chronic forms of diabetes in which insulin does not effectively transport glucose from the bloodstream: juvenile-onset diabetes is a rapidly developing form, affecting children and young adults, in which the body does not produce enough insulin and insulin must therefore be injected or adult-onset diabetes a slowly developing form in which the body's tissues become unable to use insulin effectively.