Paul Odongo for MSF
For people living with
diabetes
in the developing world, a lack of electricity can hamper access to insulin.
But a project in Kenya has shown that insulin can be maintained in hot climates without refrigeration.
Researchers, calling it a breakthrough, are urging the World Health Organization to amend its guidelines.
For people living with diabetes in the developing world, getting daily life-sustaining doses of insulin has gone hand in hand with access to electricity.
Once a vial is opened, manufacturers recommend storing it in a refrigerator until it expires, which is usually after four weeks. But an estimated 470 million people around the world who don't have access to electricity and fridges for food and medicine, making it difficult to store insulin at home.