Babyl (NYSE: BBLN) and Novo Nordisk announced that they have entered an innovative partnership, in an effort to contribute to the expansion of diabetes awareness and care in Rwanda. Drawing on Novo Nordisk’s expertise and mission to drive change to defeat diabetes and Babyl’s existing infrastructure and experience in delivering digital health services at scale in Rwanda, this new joint initiative aims to improve awareness, care and management of diabetes through community engagement, skills building and use of Babyl’s advanced digital technology. By offering digital consultations to patients across Rwanda, Babyl’s service will support people in better understanding the symptoms that they are experiencing as well as supporting patients with a confirmed diabetes diagnosis to manage their chronic condition from the ease and privacy of their own mobile phone. Patients will be consulted by a doctor or a nurse and guided to the appropriate level of care they need including medication and referral for laboratory tests. “Our data shows that a lot of people living with diabetes are unaware of it, and that many people already diagnosed are unable to access the care they need,” said Vinay Ransiwal, Vice President and General Manager Novo Nordisk Middle Africa. “Allowing a much wider access to care through Babyl’s long-proven digital platform, backed by specialists, offers an exciting opportunity to significantly scale up access to diabetes care and, hence, reach many more people with diabetes with the care they need. We are confident that together we can drive change to defeat diabetes in Middle Africa.” To support the initiative, Babyl will be rolling out a training scheme for clinicians to digitally provide diabetes care for patients, drawing on Novo Nordisk’s global expertise and best practices. This increased capacity of health providers to screen and manage diabetes cases will help Babyl to provide patients with effective and consistent care. Babyl will also deliver a health education campaign that builds greater awareness around diabetes and its health risks to encourage prevention, early detection and adherence to disease management among the broader Rwandan population. “Screening, managing and follow-up of diabetes in patients is a significant challenge for Rwanda’s health sector and digitization could be a game changer,” said Dr. Simba Calliope, Medical Director, Babyl. “We are so excited about this cutting edge partnership with Novo Nordisk that allows Babyl to strengthen our offering to patients and raise awareness of diabetes. This is an important issue in the country and a government priority.”
