We would never drive a car without checking it first: fuel, tyres, warning lights. Yet when it comes to our own bodies, especially in demanding work environments, we expect them to keep going without the same care. No pause. Just performance.

Zambia is modernising fast. New vehicles on our roads. New mines opening and expanding. New factories, construction sites, and new ways of working. Our skylines are changing, our industries are growing, and our ambitions are becoming more global by the year. But as our economy modernises, one thing often lags behind quietly and consistently: how we think about safety when health is involved.

This week, I attended the launch of the BYD Dolphin Surf electric vehicle, hosted by my school friend Angelika Huwiler-Anderson. Before test-driving the car, I did something that most people around me barely noticed. I checked my blood sugar.

For me, living with diabetes, that check is as normal as fastening a seatbelt. In many Western countries, it is well understood and by law that if you live with diabetes, especially if you use insulin or have unstable blood sugars, you do not drive unless your levels are safe. It is not about being overly cautious. It is about reaction time, judgement, and responsibility.

What struck me in that moment was not the check itself, but how unfamiliar the idea still feels here. So I spoke about it in my coverage of the event. Not to draw attention to myself, and not to medicalise a car launch, but to gently normalise something important: preparedness. Once you see it through that lens, it becomes clear that this conversation is bigger than driving.

If blood sugar awareness matters before driving a car, it matters just as much across the sectors that keep Zambia moving. Transport and logistics. Mining and construction. Manufacturing and factory work. These are the backbone of our economy, and they are environments where safety is not abstract. It is physical, immediate, and sometimes unforgiving.

In mining and construction, people work long hours in heat, often wearing heavy protective equipment that can mask early warning signs like dizziness or sweating. Physical exertion can cause blood sugars to drop suddenly, while dehydration and stress can push them dangerously high. Many sites are remote, meaning medical help is not always close by. In those conditions, a health episode can easily be misread as carelessness, fatigue, or poor discipline, rather than what it actually is: a medical situation that needs a calm, informed response.

In manufacturing, this becomes even more tangible, especially for me because I have spent time on factory floors. When you work around machines day after day, you develop a deep respect for focus and routine. Blades, needles, presses, and cutters do not allow room for hesitation or distraction. Long hours sitting at machines or standing at workstations affect circulation. When blood sugars are unstable, reaction time slows, hands feel less steady, and concentration drifts. Small cuts happen easily, and for someone with diabetes, healing can take longer if control is poor or circulation is compromised.

What I have seen is that most incidents are not dramatic. They are small moments that could have been prevented with awareness. A delayed break. A skipped snack. Someone pushing through because they do not want to interrupt the line or draw attention to themselves. Over time, those moments add up.

Yet diabetes is still often treated as a private issue, something individuals are expected to manage quietly and invisibly. The result is that people hide their testing, delay treating symptoms, or ignore warning signs. Not because they are reckless, but because they are trying to fit into systems that were never designed with them in mind.

This is where our safety thinking needs to evolve.

The solution does not need to be complicated or expensive. What is needed are practical, human systems that acknowledge reality on the ground. Basic training so supervisors and teams can recognise what low and high blood sugar looks like, and understand that it can affect anyone living with diabetes. Visible hypo treatment kits on site, placed alongside first aid boxes, so fast sugar is always accessible. Permission to test without stigma during long shifts or safety critical tasks, so people are not choosing between safety and silence.

Most importantly, clear procedures for severe situations matter. Clear guidance on what to do if someone has a severe low or high blood sugar episode, who to call, when to stop work, and when medical support is needed. When protocols exist, panic reduces and dignity is preserved.
None of this is about excluding people from work. It is about protecting them, and protecting the work itself. Productivity does not come from ignoring the body. It comes from understanding it and planning around it.

We already accept this logic in other areas. We manage fatigue. We enforce hydration rules. We wear helmets, boots, and reflective gear. These were not always standard either. They became normal because they saved lives and reduced harm.

That small moment before driving the BYD electric vehicle was not about me being cautious or fragile. It was about recognising that safety culture has to grow alongside infrastructure. As we import modern vehicles, build bigger projects, and aim higher as a country, we also have to modernise how we think about health in the workplace.

This is not just about diabetes. It is about how we care for one another in systems that move fast and demand a lot. It is about creating environments where people can show up prepared, not apologetic. Seatbelts did not always exist. Hard hats were once optional. And glucose checks, in the right contexts, deserve the same level of normalisation.

It is a lesson worth learning, not as an import, but as something we make our own.

Kaajal Vaghela is a wellness entrepreneur, sportswear designer, and diabetes wellness consultant with over three decades of lived experience managing Type 1 diabetes. Having previously served as Chairperson of the Lusaka branch of the Diabetes Association of Zambia, she remains a passionate advocate for breaking down myths and building awareness about diabetes. For more personalised coaching or corporate wellness workshops, visit: www.kaajalvaghela.com and for any feedback: [email protected])