Inter-University e-Master Course on Nutrition Management of Type 2 Diabetes in Africa
Delisle H, Batal M, Beran D, Besançon S, Correia JC, Donnen P, Kleinebreil L, Sidibé-Traoré A. 
Background: Nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including diabetes are fast increasing in sub-Saharan Africa and entail high social and economic costs. The nutrition transition is a major culprit, driven by urbanisation, globalisation and technical advances. Management and prevention are critical but health systems are ill-equipped to address NCDs. There is an urgent need for well-trained health personnel to manage diabetes adequately, including nutrition as a major pillar. There is a paucity of nutrition specialists, particularly in French-speaking Africa. New pre-service training programmes are initiated in a few countries but meanwhile, in-service training in nutrition for health professionals is direly needed. 
Aims: The aim of the project is to provide a cutting-edge e-course on the nutritional management and prevention of type 2 diabetes targeting French-speaking countries of Africa and Haiti. Short-term expected results are around 50 trained professionals per country and course leaders trained in at least 5 countries.
Methods: In the light of previous studies on patients’ struggles with their diet in West Africa, a master-level course on nutrition in type 2 diabetes is being developed by 5 scholars from three universities of the ‘North’ in collaboration with 2 scholars from a university and an NGO (Santé Diabète) in Mali. The lectures are videotaped on Dudal platform compatible with low-speed Internet. The on-line chapters include specific learning objectives, the theory, field examples and role plays, readings and a bibliography. The principles of healthy eating are first presented. The nutrition guidelines and the scientific evidence supporting them, strategies and tools to individualize the eating plan, and therapeutic education for self-help are covered. The last chapter addresses health systems and how they can adjust to the management of NCDs. 
Results: The on-line material has just been completed. Pilot testing with complementary face-to-face training activities in at least two West-African countries will begin shortly. The course will then be finalized, disseminated and evaluated in terms of acquired competencies and uptake. It is expected that the course will be integrated into the initiating universities’ global health and nutrition curricula before 2020, establishing nutrition training for type-2 diabetes as a core subject. 
Conclusion: Hybrid courses combining on-line and in-person training for pre- and in-service health professionals appear as an affordable and sustainable strategy to rapidly strengthen the health workforce capacity of low-resource countries in nutrition.
Funding provided by the G3 Program (Université de Genève, Université de Montréal, Université libre de Bruxelles). The platform and network for the course provided by UNFM (Université numérique francophone mondiale and RAFT (Réseau africain francophone de télémédecine).

Inter-university e-master course on nutrition management of type 2 diabetes in Africa