Santé Diabète is turning 25 years of practical experience into resources accessible to all through its new resources centre

 

The NGO Santé Diabète is launching the French version of its Resources Centre, an open-access platform that brings together resources from 25 years ofactions in the prevention and management of diabetes in Africa. Methodologies, tools, data, publications and feedback are now available to healthcare professionals, institutions and organisations, researchers, students and development practitioners who wish to understand, use or adapt solutions that have been tried and tested in the field. An English version of the Centre will be launched online in the coming months. 

TURNING FIELD EXPERIENCE INTO SHARED KNOWLEDGE

Since its establishment in 2001, Santé Diabète has been supporting governments and grassroots organisations in developing policies and programmes for the prevention and management of diabetes in Africa. 

Over the course of 25 years of work, the organisation has developed, alongside its partners, methods, tools and solutions tailored to the realities of local health systems. 

This experience is demonstrated by our work in three countries, more than 200 partners, over 100 international scientific publications and expert missions carried out in seven African countries. 

However, the impact of an initiative cannot be measured solely by the number of projects carried out or the number of people supported. It also depends on the ability to document what works, to analyse the difficulties encountered, to share the lessons learnt on the ground, and to enable other stakeholders to draw on this knowledge. 

This is the aim of the new Resources Centre of Santé Diabète: to transform the experience gained in the field into knowledge that is accessible, shareable and reusable. 

“After 25 years of working on the ground, our responsibility is not just to carry on with our projects. It is also to document what works, to share what we have learnt, and to enable others to build on this.”
Stéphane Besançon, director of Santé Diabète 

SEVEN THEMES TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND, FIND INSPIRATION AND TAKE ACTION 

 Available on the Santé Diabète website, the Resources Centre is organised around seven main themes: 

  • Prevention 
  • Health policies 
  • Medicines 
  • Data 
  • Exchanges 
  • Care 
  • Research
     

Each section provides access to definitions, methodologies, practical examples from the field, results, publications and tools developed or adapted by Santé Diabète and its partners. 

The aim is not simply to make documents available. The Centre helps people to understand how and why an approach was developed, how it was implemented, what lessons were learnt from it, and which aspects of healthcare systems it seeks to address. 

Users can thus gain an understanding of an approach, draw inspiration from an experience, reuse or adapt a tool, and explore an issue relating to diabetes, prevention or, more broadly, healthcare systems. 

“We have designed this Centre to go beyond simply making documents available: it should help us understand how an approach was developed, what we have learnt from its implementation, and how it can be adapted to other contexts.”
David Nouet, renforcement and monitoring manager

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: FROM THE FIELD TO OTHER CONTEXTS 

The Resources Centre is aimed in particular at healthcare professionals, institutions, non-governmental organisations, researchers, development practitioners and public decision-makers, whilst remaining accessible to everyone. 

It also has a broader aim: to promote the dissemination of knowledge derived from African experiences. 

The approaches developed in Mali, Burkina Faso, the Union of the Comoros and other countries where Santé Diabète has provided its expertise can inform practices in other contexts, foster exchanges between African countries, and also contribute to international discussions on prevention, access to care and the organisation of health systems. 

The Centre thus contributes to the circulation of knowledge not only between the Global South but also between the Global South and the Global North, by raising the profile of the experiences, innovations and lessons learnt from the field. 

A CENTRE SET TO THRIVE 

The French version of the Resources Centre is now available online. A version in English only will be published online in the coming months, in order to broaden access to these resources and promote their international dissemination. 

Most of the resources can be accessed directly online. However, some tools developed by Santé Diabète are presented through a series of visuals, rather than being made available for direct download. This is because using them often requires a clear understanding of the approach they are part of and adapting them to the specific circumstances of each situation. Organisations interested in these tools may contact Santé Diabète to access them and, where necessary, receive support in adopting and adapting them. 

The Centre will also continue to be gradually enriched with new content, tools, publications and feedback. 

Through this Resources Centre, Santé Diabète aims to ensure that its 25 years of experience serve not only as a record of its work, but above all as a dynamic, useful and shareable resource for those working to improve diabetes prevention and management and to strengthen health systems. 

 

Access the Resources Centre: https://santediabete.org/centre-de-ressources/