Ahli balatah al-balad club: Impacting diabetes control with a focus on chronic disease self-management

Healing Across The Divides (HATD) has spent more time and resources on community interventions pertaining to diabetes than any other health issue. In total, HATD has funded six different community groups-four in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and two in Israel. This chapter first calls attention to worldwide trends in diabetes through the lens of socioeconomic disparities. In the next section, the chapter concentrates on community-based prevention and treatment of diabetes placed within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is followed by the results of the first three interventions. The chapter then reviews the last three community-based interventions that used a relatively new evidenced-based approach that has been translated and validated in Arabic: the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP). We will both highlight results and point to the political implications of such an intervention. Other than extensive documentation of the positive impact of the CDSMP, this program has intangible organizational benefits relevant for peace building through health (PtH). The concrete nature of the CDSMP can facilitate communication between community-based groups. In addition, the tangible nature of the CDSMP demonstrates that community-based groups have something to offer other, more powerful, organizations, such as Ministries of Health.