Cameroonian Vanessa Zommi (20) is a problem solver, and when she realised that diabetes posed a risk to her mother’s life, she decided to do something about it.

She had already lost both her grandparents as a result of diabetes, so when her mother was diagnosed with the disease, Zommi started to look into natural treatments that could keep her mother healthy.

She came across the moringa oleifera tree, which grew in her region, and discovered it has a number of nutritional and medicinal benefits. One of these is reducing blood sugar levels to treat diabetes and, after a bit more research, Zommi found she could easily process the moringa leaf into a tasty tea.

“Studies show that drinking moringa tea after a meal can ease digestion, and after two hours of intake, sugar levels in the body drop.”

She visited an agricultural fair and met with moringa farmers who could supply her with the leaf, which she dried and placed in tea bags. And after testing the product out, she realised that other people in her community would also benefit from the treatment.

According to Zommi, poverty is one of the leading causes of diabetes as a lot of cheap food and snacks in the market were high in sugar and low in nutrients. The cost of medicine and healthcare also meant diabetics often did not receive early detection, and many patients were unable to afford on-going treatment.