Type 1 DM occurs among children, adolescents and young adults. It occurs because of autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta cells leading to absolute insulin deficiency.
There is a crisis in Africa whereby an estimated 1.2 million children and young people (CYP) are living with diabetes, with around 150,000 new cases of type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosed annually.
Kenya ranks as the 44th highest country worldwide for T1D prevalence among children and young people.