President, Polish Diabetes Association

In 2017, Poland became the first country in Europe to pilot the implementation of the KiDS programme, in the Podkarpackie region. This region was chosen because of its high rates of overweight and obesity in children. The implementation was coordinated by Rzeszów University and Sanofi, and supported by many local partners. The KiDS programme has been subsequently implemented in the Podlasie and Pomerania regions, coordinated by the local affiliates of the Polish Diabetes Association (PDA) with the support of Sanofi.

The implementation in Pomerania has been the most successful. Led by Ewa Dygaszewicz, President of the PDA Pomerania branch, the initiative was supported by the regional government and other local partners, and received the patronage of the National Health Fund and the medical association Diabetes Poland. Covid-19 forced the programme to be implemented virtually, but this resulted in twenty times more children being reached compared to the previous onsite implementation. A total of 650 teachers from 104 schools participated in the online training and almost 40,000 children were engaged.

The training included an educational video, developed by the PDA Pomerania branch, that teachers were encouraged to use to conduct KiDS lessons. The film features Ewa Dygaszewicz, who lives with diabetes and is a diabetes educator and dietitian, and presents the key messages of the KiDS project, including healthy lifestyle tips to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and an interactive quiz to engage students.