Paul Odongo/MSF
DKA Calculator
In brief
Type 1 diabetes is a complex chronic disease that is particularly difficult to manage in low‑ and middle‑income countries. MSF is seeing a steady increase in diabetes‑related consultations across its projects, while access to insulin, blood glucose monitoring tools, and trained healthcare providers remains very limited.
Among the most serious complications is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a medical emergency that can be fatal without rapid and accurate management. In some MSF intervention areas, such as Aweil in South Sudan, dozens of children are hospitalised each month due to this complication.
The MSF Foundation is leading an innovative project to adapt a clinical calculation tool already used in high‑income countries to support healthcare workers in managing diabetic ketoacidosis in resource‑limited settings. Co‑developed with medical experts and field teams, this tool aims to save lives by guiding clinical decision‑making.
Status of the project
News
In detail
Diabetic ketoacidosis
Diabetic ketoacidosis is an acute and potentially life‑threatening complication of type 1 diabetes. It occurs when the body lacks insulin and begins to burn fat as a source of energy, leading to the accumulation of ketone bodies and dangerous acidification of the blood.
In children, this complication requires rapid, accurate, and intensive management. However, in many MSF intervention settings, the lack of healthcare professionals specialised in paediatric endocrinology and the absence of laboratory testing make diagnosis and treatment particularly challenging, increasing the risk of death.
To find out more, watch the film tracing 10 years of diabetes care provided by MSF:
L'équipe
our other projects
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Antibiogo is a diagnostic aid medical device that aims to help doctors prescribe the most effective antibiotics to their patients. It is available as a free, open source and offline Android application. It allows non-expert laboratory technicians to measure and interpret antibiograms. It provides accurate results that can also be used for monitoring purposes and updating empirical treatments based on actual etiology.
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The project was implemented between 2020 and 2024.
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The purpose of the Mini-Lab project is to design and produce a small-scale, autonomous, transportable clinical bacteriology laboratory which is affordable and above all suited to the MSF’s fields of intervention. This concept, developed by MSF with its partners, is also intended to be made available to health care operators in countries with limited resources. The Mini-Lab project hosted by MSF has been able to benefit from other funding mechanisms and the Foundation has been able to redirect its funding to other emerging initiatives.