diabetes education
Photo Credit: Supplied

Expert diabetes education and help that’s easy to understand is now available for free on WhatsApp to all South Africans!

 

South Africa (06 November 2024) — National Diabetes Month began on 1 November as a stark reminder of the stats: diabetes is the number one killer of women and the number two killer of men. This is especially concerning considering that it is not a lethal condition!

With there being no national diabetes education programme, many people lack an understanding of their condition and are dying unnecessarily.

But, there is hope! A new diabetes education solution has become accessible to all South Africans thanks to The Sweet Life Chatbot. This clever bit of tech offers expert diabetes and healthy living advice that’s easy to understand and accessible to everyone with a phone.

Whether you’ve been newly diagnosed with diabetes, want to understand more about the condition, or simply want some healthy eating, exercise, and mental health tips, the Chatbot is here to help.

Friendly advice – already available in English soon to be available in isiZulu on World Diabetes Day (14 November) – is backed by experts, from South Africa’s largest online diabetes community; making it a source of invaluable support.

“We are so excited to be launching the Sweet Life Chatbot!” said a very excited Bridget McNulty who is the co-founder of said community known as Sweet Life.

Sweet Life teamed up with Unu Health—a health-tech platform that helps South Africans connect to medical support and helps them access their basic metrics like BMI, blood pressure and more—to make the magic happen.

Anyone interested can download the Unu app to access the Sweet Life Chatbot and get info on the following:

  • Just diagnosed
  • What is diabetes?
  • What should I eat?
  • How can I get active?
  • What about mental health?
  • What are my diabetes rights?

You will find the Chatbot under the Lifestyle & Advice heading on the home page where it will become accessible to you via Whatsapp.

“We know that the only way to turn the diabetes situation in South Africa around is by empowering individuals,” says Bridget McNulty. “We developed this first version of the Sweet Life Chatbot to do just that: offer the right information to the right person, exactly when they need it.”


Sources: Supplied 
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About the Author

Ashleigh Nefdt is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Ashleigh's favourite stories have always seen the hidden hero (without the cape) come to the rescue. As a journalist, her labour of love is finding those everyday heroes and spotlighting their spark - especially those empowering women, social upliftment movers, sustainability shakers and creatives with hearts of gold. When she's not working on a story, she's dedicated to her canvas or appreciating Mother Nature.

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