THE Diabetes Association of Jamaica (DAJ) has been invited to showcase their breakthrough on foot care in the management of diabetes at the 18th International Diabetes Federation Congress, scheduled for Paris, France on August 24 – 29.

According to Dr Owen Bernard, a surgical chiropodist as well as the executive director of the DAJ, foot care has become integrally important in controlling the disease.

He was speaking at the recent launch of the DAJ’s first outreach programme in Bogwalk, St Catherine.

“We are doing a lot of good things here in Jamaica and it is because of these good things like this outreach clinic why we are being invited to show our model to the world in Paris,” announced Bernard, during his address at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

From morning until mid-afternoon, the doors of the Tru-Juice Sports Club in Bog Walk (also known as Bybrook Sports Club), welcomed patients eager to undergo tests for the disease or just to continue their treatments.

The outreach program, planned for the first Thursday of every month at the same location, will offer blood sugar, blood pressure, heart and kidney testing, as well as eye screening, foot care, doctor consultation, diabetes education and consultations. The clinic will run from 10 am to 3 pm.

“We hope that this effort will have meaningful impact on the entire parish and from here maybe we will be able to provide this service in every parish,” said Nicola Bicknell, sales and marketing manager of Trade Winds Citrus Ltd, who has suffered from diabetes from the age of 10.

She s also responsible for spearheading the project that will cost the juice company roughly $40,000 monthly to help fund the clinic.

This sponsorship, said Peter McConnell, managing director of Trade Winds Citrus Ltd, is an effort to give back to the citrus community.

According to company officials, their focus, in terms of support and sponsorship, is mainly centred in the areas of children, health, sports and education.

“We have recognised the increased concerns about health in Jamaica, and that as a Jamaican company, we have an obligation to our people to provide the healthiest possible juice for the Jamaican public,” Bicknell said. “We, however, decided that we wanted to provide a more focused community program relating to the health aspect of our 100 per cent, No Sugar Added, and we decided to contact the Diabetes Association of Jamaica.”

The DAJ will provide a doctor, a nurse and all the equipment for testings at a reduced rate. In the meantime, Tru-Juice has agreed to provide the location, to pay 50 per cent of the cost of each test carried out and to pay for the first 100 blood sugar tests carried out.

The DAJ was created in 1976 with the responsibility to develop and implement a nationwide plan for diabetic treatment, education and training.

It is currently in the process of trying to organise clinics for screening and testing in each parish of the island.