A4D's Train-The-Trainer Course Brings Regional Doctors to Bangkok for Type 1 Diabetes Training

BANGKOK, 21 August 2026 — Seven doctors from Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines completed an intensive week-long Train-The-Trainer (TTT) course on Type 1 Diabetes in Bangkok this month, the latest step in Action4Diabetes' effort to build medical capacity across South-East Asia.

The course, held 17–21 August at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, was co-organised by A4D, the School of Global Health at Chulalongkorn University, and the Thai Association of Diabetes Educators, with support from Sanofi's Global Health Unit for Sustainable Impact. It was A4D's third TTT course delivered with the School of Global Health.

Rather than sending international teams into each country, A4D trains local doctors who return home to train their own hospital teams and networks — extending the reach of each course well beyond the doctors in the room. Participants were required to complete six pre-course webinars and a full review of the ISPAD Clinical Practice Consensus Guidelines before arriving in Bangkok.

The programme combined clinical teaching with hands-on practice: paediatric and adult T1D care, Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES), carb counting, insulin adjustment, and managing complications including DKA and long-term renal disease. Sessions on diabetes technology — CGMs, insulin pumps and transition clinics — and patient-centred communication were also included.

A highlight of the week was a visit to the OPD Carb Count clinic at Ramathibodi Hospital, where participants observed a live case study of a newly diagnosed T1D patient and saw first-hand how the clinical team supports patients between visits using printed logbooks and the LINE messaging app.

Guest speakers living with T1D — including Mr Minh Le and Catherine Showler — shared personal accounts of managing the condition, which organisers say helped bridge clinical theory with everyday patient experience.

Prof. Taninee Sahakitrungruang, Course Director of the TTT programme and a volunteer medical advisor to A4D, said awareness of T1D needs to improve within the medical community itself, not only the public, to prevent delayed diagnosis. She added that treating the condition well requires more than clinical knowledge, patients and healthcare providers also need reliable access to insulin, test strips and modern monitoring tools.

All seven participants completed a post-course evaluation, with 100% reporting they were very satisfied with the programme and found the training materials relevant to their practice. Feedback highlighted the DKA sessions and hands-on workshops as particular strengths, with several participants noting plans to adapt the course content for use in their own hospitals.

A4D is grateful for its co-organisers and supporters for making the course possible, describing the partnership as central to building lasting health capacity for young people living with Type 1 Diabetes in South-East Asia.