Novo Nordisk and the Ministry of Health in Malaysia Join Forces to Improve Pre-pregnancy Health
The Ministry of Health in Malaysia and global partners join Novo Nordisk in launching the Jom Mama project to show how pre-pregnancy health can prevent diabetes in the next generation.
May 28, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Today, Novo Nordisk and the Malaysian Ministry of Health signed a memorandum of understanding, making their partnership on the ‘Jom Mama’ diabetes prevention project official. The project was launched in November 2012 together with global partners, Steno Diabetes Center Denmark, University of Southampton UK and the University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg.
Over the next four years, the project aims to gather evidence that a pre-pregnancy health programme targeting young married couples can prevent diabetes, a disease that has increased 31.0% in just 5 years. Evidence from Developmental Health and Disease science shows that a woman’s health prior to and during pregnancy can influence her child’s risk of developing diabetes later in life.
Currently, there are no examples of pre-pregnancy packages implemented in health systems. The new project will explore this new opportunity to prevent diabetes and evaluate its effectiveness.
“We can see that physical health is worsening among young people. We have a tremendous opportunity with Jom Mama to support improving not only their own health but that of their future child,” says Henrik Dahl, general manager, Novo Nordisk.
Early this month, the project team completed workshops with community stakeholders to reach a consensus on the main issues that influence the health of young couples. Additionally, interviews were conducted with young couples to gain insight into the design of the intervention.
“We are delighted that the Ministry of Health in Malaysia shared our vision for this project and has been working closely with us to bring this ‘idea to life’ on the ground,” says Charlotte Ersbøll, corporate vice president, Novo Nordisk. “Jom Mama is a true innovative approach and the partners are now ready to turn research into action.”
Jom Mama will be enrolling couples in the three-year study to evaluate both qualitative and quantitative outcomes for effectiveness in reducing exposure to diabetes risk factors such as obesity. During the second half of 2013, the Jom Mama partnership will incorporate insights from completed formative work to develop the intervention as well as pre-test the interventions with young couples prior to full implementation.
Read more about the Jom Mama project in Novo Nordisk's TBL Quarterly
About Changing Future Health
The Jom Mama project is the first research project worldwide under Novo Nordisk’s Changing Future Health programme to prevent diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. The Changing Future Health programme is based on developmental origins of health and disease research and advocates for early interventions across the life course as an important means to prevent chronic disease.
About Novo Nordisk
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk strives to conduct its activities in a financially, environmentally and socially responsible way. The strategic commitment to corporate sustainability has brought the company onto centre stage as a leading player in today’s business environment, recognised for its integrated reporting, stakeholder engagement and consistently high sustainability performance. In 2013, Novo Nordisk received the Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology industry group top ranking on Corporate Knight’s list of Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations. For more information, visit novonordisk.com/sustainability.
