We have assessed the impact of education and location on glycaemic control in rural African diabetic patients. Of 320 patients, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was higher in those with no education than in those with at least 1 year’s education (11.8±4.8% vs 10.6±3.7%, p=0.018). Those without education, however, improved control more when structured care was introduced (HbA1c fall 4.3% vs 2.7%, p=0.027). Location and accessibility to clinic care did not affect glycaemic control. These results show that structured diabetes care in Africa is highly worthwhile, and though the poorly educated may have worse control initially, they show greater improvement after management intervention.

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