Filling a critical gap
In many rural health posts across East Africa, diabetes medication runs out regularly — sometimes for weeks at a time. Patients who depend on daily metformin or insulin are forced to travel hundreds of kilometers to district hospitals, or simply go without treatment.
TNL Labs, the Vancouver-based biotech company, has addressed this crisis directly by donating approximately CAD $500,000 worth of diabetes supplies to 47 rural health posts across Kenya's Rift Valley and Tanzania's Mwanza and Shinyanga regions.
What was donated
The shipment included 50,000 glucose testing strips, 10,000 HbA1c test kits, 25,000 units of metformin (500mg and 850mg), 5,000 units of insulin glargine, 15,000 syringes, and 3,000 blood pressure monitors. All supplies were shipped from TNL's logistics partner in Qatar, reducing transit time and costs.
Impact on the ground
"Before this donation, we had to turn away diabetic patients because we simply had nothing to give them," said Nurse Mary Wanjiku at the Marigat Health Centre in Baringo County, Kenya. "Now we have a 6-month supply. It's the first time in my 12 years here that we've had this level of stock."
TNL Labs has committed to annual donations and is working with the Kenyan and Tanzanian Ministries of Health to establish a sustainable supply chain for diabetes medications in underserved areas.
For more information, visit tnlmedical.com.
