Community-based diabetes programme: the micro-clinic project.

Increased urbanization in the Eastern Mediterranean Region has led to a significant rise in the prevalence of diabetes. Caring for diabetes under conditions of endemic uncertainty, violence and poverty is a great challenge. The micro-clinic model establishes a public domain of social and community interaction whereby friends, families and neighbours can collectively engage in education, treatment and group support, obtain shared access to appropriate technology and spread positive behaviours. Participants who are active in micro-clinics feel empowered to care for themselves and others. The micro-clinic model offers the prospect of an economically, socially and politically sustainable approach to health care.