SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - The annual Cycle4Diabetes (C4D) relay aimed at creating awareness and educating the South African public on diabetes takes place from 2 to 4 November.
Diabetes is the country's second biggest killer after Tuberculosis.
This figure is up from 2013, when it lay fifth. According to StatsSA, diabetes accounted for 5,4% of the country's deaths in 2016.
Founder
Dr Jacques van Staden, founder of the C4D relay and a George-based GP, underlined the importance of educating the public.
"There are many people going through their daily routines in a pre-diabetic stage, not knowing their bodies are shutting down due to this killer disease," he says.
Van Staden founded Cycle for Diabetes (C4D) in 2009.
It is a non-profit organisation that primarily aims to use cycling to save lives by restoring hope and purpose to diabetic patients.
The secondary aim is to establish a Southern Cape platform for junior and underprivileged cyclists to experience a top club setup.
In November 2015 the team raised over R250 000 to provide long-acting insulin analogue for underprivileged Type 1 diabetic children in the George area.
Team C4D cycled over 1 200km in 48 hours from Johannesburg, through the Free State and Mpumalanga to KwaZulu-Natal and back.
"Part of 2017's Novo Nordisk C4D relay is to make people aware that the pre-diabetic stage of type 2 can often be reversed by making everyday lifestyle changes," said Dr Van Staden, "and that diagnosis is the first step towards this."
Van Staden, who devotes his life to caring for children with diabetes, was named the George Herald's first Citizen of the Year in 2016.
Novo Nordisk will join in the annual relay.
Dr Tim Kedijang, general manager at Novo Nordisk South Africa says, "Diabetes leads to conditions such as heart complications, retinal failure and blindness, which require treatment such as bypasses and dialysis.
The result is unemployment, therefore loss of income for those on disability who are unable to work.
Furthermore, most of the people are not economically active, therefore treatments such as amputations need to be carried out in state facilities, putting pressure on the already strained public resources."
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
