News from the SMART2D project
News archive from the SMART2D project.
2019
April
LIVE: Francis Xavier Kasujja on NTV Uganda talks about innovative ways of fighting diabetes
On April 2nd, 2019, Francis Xavier Kasujja attended the program TAKE NOTE on NTV Uganda and talked about type 2 diabetes and the innovative ways SMART2D contributes to its prevention and management.
Clarification: Target population of SMART2D in Sweden referred to as ‘refugees in Sweden’ is an error. In Sweden, SMART2D works in socio-economically disadvantaged suburbs in Stockholm.
March
Successful dissemination workshop organized by the SMART2D Ugandan team in Makerere University School of Public Health!
The Ugandan SMART2D team carried out the SMART2D Research Dissemination Workshop on March 21st 2019 in Kampala. The findings from the SMART2D trial attracted the interest of the different stakeholders and the local media who attended the event.
Among the attendants were Dr. Gity Behravan, 1st Secretary and Senior Research Advisor, Swedish Embassy- Kampala, Dr. Fred Makumbi, Deputy Dean of Makerere School of Public Health, Dr. Esther Buregyeya, Dr. Noah Kiwanuka and officials from the World Health Organisation, Ugandan Ministry of Health, NCD platforms, diabetic associations, lung and heart institutions, district health workers, patients from Iganga and Mayuge, Makerere University Directorate of Research and Graduate Training, among others. Congratulations to the SMART2D team in Uganda on a successful dissemination event!
Read more about the SMART2D Research Dissemination workshop
2018
August
”Let’s Beat It Together” Diabetes Awareness Campaign In Khayelitsha
The SMART2D team in South Africa has organised a community event called ”Let’s Beat It Together” in Khayelitsha to raise awareness about T2DM and its risk factors. The event is part of the study intervention which focuses on self-management and community support for the prevention and management of Type 2 diabetes.
The programme included brief presentations by invited guests, focusing on diabetes self-management and community action. Attendees were urged to reduce their fat, salt and sugar intake - including the consumption of fizzy drinks and fast foods - and to increase their level of exercise and daily physical activity.
Read more about the ”Let’s Beat It Together” Diabetes Awareness Campaign In Khayelitsha
2017
January
First participant is enrolled!
The first participant in the SMART2D trial was enrolled at the Uganda site at the end of January!
2016
November
Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, 2016
Members of the SMART2D team from multiple partner sites attended the HSR 2016 conference in Vancouver. Juliet Aweko from Karolinska Institutet gave an oral presentation on community management in the Swedish context, and also wrote a blog post. You can check out the blog post here, and visit the "Materials" section of this site to see the presentation abstract.
August
World Nutrition 2016 conference in Cape Town
The World Nutrition 2016 Knowledge Policy Action conference will be hosted by the University of the Western Cape, a SMART2D partner, from August 30th to September 2nd. The conference will focus on the double burden of malnutrition in a globalized world, and members of the SMART2D team will present. Visit the website if you would like to take part!
March
Sveriges Radio program on SMART2D
Swedish Radio aired a 10-minute global health segment on the SMART2D project on March 25, 2016. The programme introduced SMART2D as a new research project tackling type 2 diabetes in three countries, and featured interviews with Meena Daivadanam and Thandi Puoane in the piece. You can read a summary and listen to the piece here (in Swedish).
February
Stefan Peterson appointed Chief of Health at UNICEF
Congratulations to SMART2D's Principal Investigator Stefan Swartling Peterson, who has been appointed as the new Chief of Health at UNICEF! He will begin his term at UNICEF in February 2016. We wish Stefan all the very best and also look forward to continued collaboration with him in his new domain.
Meena Daivadanam, who has been the project coordinator for SMART2D, will now take over as Principal Investigator.
January
2nd Annual SMART2D Consortium Workshop
The 2nd annual SMART2D meeting took place from January 18 - 22, 2016, and was hosted by the Makerere University School of Public Health. The workshop was attended by members from all of the project partners, and included presentations and discussions about the formative research phase results and planning and brainstorming for the intervention phase, as well as a session for local stakeholders and a visit to the Iganga Mayuge field site.
2015
November
Our latest results
Group members recently presented posters at the annual GACD meeting this month. You can see the posters on our Materials page!
Diabetes awareness campaign at UWC
The SMART2D team at UWC will be hosting an awareness day on the UWC campus on November 16th. The day will include screening, counseling and health talks. If you want to know more or are in the area and want to join, read more here!
August
SMART2D in the Belgian news
Recently, the Belgian newspaper, Standaard, published both an article about SMART2D and an interview on diabetes in South Africa with Professor David Sanders, a SMART2D investigator at the partner site UWC in South Africa. For those who read Dutch, you can access the article PDF here and the interview PDF here.
June
iCCM project wins innovation award
Colleagues at Makerere University have won the Social Innovations Award from Innov8ing Health for their work with drug shop integrated care, the integrated management of fever, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea in children at drug shops. Congratulations!
March
News articles from South Africa on the SMART2D project
Following the successful and high-profile launch of the project, there has been news coverage of the project in the South African media. The University of the Western Cape issues a press release about the launch, with background information on diabetes. The news agency Eye Witness News also wrote a short article about the launch and the project. A longer follow up article on diabetes in the Cape Times has also been written by members of the UWC partner site.
Cape Times article on SMART2D
The Cape Times newspaper published a short article on the SMART2D project in conjunction with the project launch. The article gives an overview of the project and the South African diabetes situation.
SMART2D officially launches!
The SMART2D project was officially launched on Friday, March 13th during a project meeting at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. The program included presentations by Professor Andre Kengne of the South African Medical Research Council, Professor and Vice Chancellor of UWC Tyrone Pretorius, and project members. Stakeholders and decision makers with an interest in the research area attended in person and online as well. The project now looks forward to the next four years!
SMART2D to launch in March 2015!
The SMART2D project will officially launch in mid-March, 2015 at our partner site, the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. More information will be added after the launch.