Patrick Peck Okema
My Story
In September 2013, after 2 weeks of misdiagnoses and 3 hospital visits, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 16. This was 4 years after I lost my older brother, Geoffrey, to very similar symptoms and what appears to have been undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. After my diagnosis, I had to adjust my way of life within a community that was completely unaware and unaccepting. This, coupled with the prevalence of misdiagnoses that have cost so many their lives, are the primary reasons I made it my goal to join the medical profession and become a trained advocate for people with type 1 diabetes. I have since graduated as a nurse and joined the Pamoja Advocacy Program to sharpen my advocacy skills.
My Advocacy
Through the Pamoja program, I not only want to teach vulnerable people in my community to speak for themselves, but I also want to advocate to improve access to medical supplies for my condition.
I really want to see people with diabetes be heard, valued and also given a higher priority just like other Non Communicable Diseases, such as HIV/AIDs, HepatitisB, etc. I am directly in contact with different people living with the condition and this gives me the opportunity to interact and identify the local issues, and to lobby for possible solutions where applicable.
My team has faced challenges, but together we achieved our advocacy goal for 2018: to improve understanding of type 1 diabetes and reduce stigma. Together we delivered 4 type 1 diabetes presentations in clinics in Gulu and Kampala. Many people with type 1 diabetes that we spoke to told us that they keep their diabetes a secret at school and in their communities. We feel this has contributed to the problem of lack of awareness in our country. Therefore, as part of our presentation, we emphasized the need for type 1 warriors starting conversations about diabetes in their schools and communities.
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