Nobody chooses to live with Type 1 Diabetes. Children, in particular, are put under immense strain by having to inject themselves with insulin every time they eat, and having to prick their fingers multiple times a day to check their blood glucose levels. For children too young to inject themselves, their parents have to do it for them. 

In addition, parents have to wake their children in the night to painfully prick their fingers so that they can check if their blood glucose level is stable. The risk if they don’t? Their child might not wake up. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a common complication of Type 1 Diabetes in children: if not treated in time, it can lead to coma or death. According to the National Library of Medicine*, in Africa, the mortality rate of children with DKA was reported to be nearly 7% in 2023.

Life-changing technology: CGM
But there’s technology available that can change all that:  internationally recognised as the standard of care for Type 1 Diabetes***. It’s called CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) and it tracks your glucose 24 hours a day, without you having to do any painful fingersticks. 

That means that children—and their parents—can sleep through the night with peace of mind, and parents can monitor their child’s glucose levels even when they are at school. A significant portion of a child’s day is spent at school, a critical period for rapid cognitive, developmental, and emotional growth. The burden of managing Type 1 Diabetes during these formative years can affect concentration, school performance, and emotional well-being. CGM not only supports safer glucose control but also reduces the stress and disruption of traditional fingerstick testing.

By ensuring access to CGM for children under 18, we are not just improving individual health outcomes—we are investing in a future where children with Type 1 Diabetes can fully participate in education, reach their potential, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

Future healthcare costs reduced
Long-term complications of Type 1 Diabetes can include damage to your eyes, kidneys, nerves, skin, heart, and blood vessels. It’s those long-term complications that are expensive for the National Department of Health. Which is why we’re asking them not only to support children living with Type 1 Diabetes, and  the parents of those children, but South Africa’s future healthcare costs by offering all children under 18 with Type 1 Diabetes, CGM access. While we recognise the current urgent funding needs in the TB/HIV space, we also believe that ensuring access to essential care for people with Type 1 diabetes—particularly children—must be prioritised as well.

Please share!
Please join us by sharing this petition as far and wide as possible! We want all supporters to sign: people with diabetes in public and private care, their family members and community, anyone interested in the wellbeing of children with diabetes. You don’t need to contribute anything to the petition, just your signature and sharing it with others.

If we stand together, we can change the lives of children living with Type 1 Diabetes in South Africa forever! Please join us.

This campaign is hosted by SA Diabetes Advocacy and supported by Diabetes SA, Sweet Life, Kids Powered by Insulin, YT1, SEMDSA, Paeds-SA, Diabetes Alliance and FIND.

*National Library of Medicine. (2024). Diabetic ketoacidosis: Epidemiology and outcomes. PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10502163/

**National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2023, May 11). Diabetes (type 1 and type 2) in children and young people: Diagnosis and management. NICE guideline [NG18]. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng18/chapter/recommendations#continuous-glucose-monitoring

***American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. (2024). 14. Children and Adolescents: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2025. Diabetes Care, 48(Supplement_1), S283–S305. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc25-S014