It’s a well known but tragic fact that Trinidad & Tobago is counted as one of the countries with the most prevalent and fastest-growing cases of Diabetes in the world. A considerable portion of the population lives with the disease and misinformation continues to circulate which may be one of the main reasons the disease continues to grow.
It is in this context that TATIL and TATIL Life have committed to raising public awareness around Diabetes in T&T. For four years, TATIL and Tatil Life have partnered with the Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago (DATT) for a number of activities, and enjoyed a visible presence at Diabetes Month activities and this year, co-hosted their 6th form internship programme and the launch of the association’s Youth Advocacy Branch.
DATT internship hosted 30 students from 20 schools in T&T during a six-week programme where they learned about Diabetes research, marketing, communication, lab work, advocacy, and health promotion. The students also learned how to use the Diabetes retinal camera, which was donated by TATIL and TATIL Life to the association in 2021. To date, over 2,000 Trinbagonians have benefitted from free exams with the eye screening camera, which has been a vision saver for many.
With the continued support of TATIL and TATIL Life, the intention is to continue growing the programme incrementally each year to increase awareness of Diabetes, while educating the participants on healthy lifestyle choices to motivate positive and lasting behaviour change.
Musa Ibrahim, Managing Director of TATIL and TATIL Life, remarked at the graduation ceremony, “The DATT internship empowers our youth to be major influencers in their schools, on their social media, and through their activism. Simply sharing your learnings with your circle of friends can have a ripple effect that touches hundreds of people. They are the pioneers who will have a significant influence on how our society regards Diabetes and Diabetics.”
For Diabetes month, TATIL and TATIL Life continued their support of DATT by sponsoring the Run DATT 5K and Walkathon which was held on Sunday 13th November, at Woodford Lodge, Chaguanas.
To learn more about Diabetes or to get advice and resources on living with Diabetes, feel free to visit the Diabetes Association of T&T at
www.diabetesassociationtt.org, the TATIL website at www.diabetes.tatil.co.tt or visit any TATIL branch to get your free Diabetes brochure.