Insulin components saving lives in the South Pacific
The Cook Islands and Samoa have joined Tonga in becoming the recipients of much needed supplies to save the lives of the growing number of diabetics in the area…the intitiative of a Melbourne doctor and two Israeli embassies.
Ron Raab in the President of Insulin for life. His organisation collects unwanted insulin supplies in Australia and distributes them to the idyllic tropical islands of the South Pacific where the number of diabetes victims is rapidly increasing.
The logistics involved in getting the much needed supplies to their destination are taken care of by the Israeli embassies in Canberra and Wellington.
In a letter to the Cook Islands Ministry of Health. Raab explained that he knew how expensive the necessary tools to control diabetes are in the area but was pleased to report that Government of Israel had offered to cover transport and handling costs “making this project possible.”
Raab told J-Wire: “There are many instances in Australia where medical institutions find themselves with a surplus of components such as needles and meters and they are unable to use them for new incoming patients. We collect all the unwanted items and send them off to the islands where the number of diabetes sufferers is on the increase. There are restrictions about sending insulin itself, but the needs of the people of the South Pacific focus on test strips , syringes and meters….and those are what Raab, a diabetic himself, is sending with the help of the Israelis.
The Israeli related project sent medical supplies to Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Nauru, and the Solomon Islands prior to the Cook Islands and Samoa initiatives. Reaching further afield, the Insulin for Life project has sent 5000 blood glucose test trips for the use of children in Uzbekistan…without which the children would not have had access to the life-saving technology. Australia’s Insulin for Life, working with Israel’s ambassador to Uzbekistan sends shipments twice a year.
Reuven Rivlin, the Speaker of the Knesset joined Raab in personally presenting supplies to the people of Tonga earlier this year.