Independent Evaluation of SLDCI Project

RemediumOne was tasked with conducting an independent evaluation of the efficacy and effectiveness of the Sri Lanka Diabetes and Cardiovascular Initiative project on behalf of the World Diabetes Foundation. The SLDCI project was conducted under the supervision of Deputy Director General of Health Services and the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Unit. The Sri Lanka College of Endocrinologists (SLCE) and Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) act as the implementing partners for the project, while the SLCE holds the fund and takes a managerial and technical lead role. The SLDCI project was funded by the World Diabetes Foundation and Ministry of Health Sri Lanka and reached all 25 districts of the country over a period of 3+ years.

The project not only focused on treatment, but also on prevention of diabetes from early life through correct lifestyle changes.The evaluation comprised of 5 evaluators and was headed by a statistician and community physician. The evaluation was done using both qualitative methods and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods comprised of interviews with various benefactors of the project, who were very keen on the continuation of the project. Both patients and medical professionals alike found the initiatives implemented by the project effective and relevant.Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), currently pose a major threat to health and development worldwide. Each year, 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 69 years die from NCDs;over 80% of these premature deaths occur in developing countries such as Sri Lanka. NCDs rank among the top 10 causes of premature death in Sri Lanka. Among NCDs, diabetes has become one of the major non communicable diseases in Sri Lanka. As per the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas 2019, Sri Lanka’s diabetes prevalence in the 20 – 79 year age category is 8.7%, which accounts for about 1.23 million people.

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