Multinational healthcare company Abbott on March 3 inked a strategic collaboration with the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation.

According to the agreement, Abbott will donate 3,000 sets of its fingerstick-free glucose monitoring system FreeStyle Libre and provide professional services to the foundation to better support children with Type 1 diabetes and pregnant women with gestational diabetes.

The FreeStyle Libre portfolio provides diabetes patients with real-time readings, trends, and historical records of their glucose levels.

Abbott had on Jan 29 announced that its application to expand the use of FreeStyle Libre to children aged 4 and above with diabetes was approved.

The morbidity rate of Type 1 diabetes has been rising in China over the last few years. China is currently ranked fourth in the world in terms of the number of children aged 14 or younger suffering from Type 1 diabetes. More than 90 percent of children with diabetes are classified as Type 1.

As patients with Type 1 diabetes need lifelong insulin treatment, scientific and efficient glucose management is important, according to medical experts.

"FreeStyle Libre is used by more than 500,000 Chinese users. After receiving the approval to expand its application in China, we immediately started working with the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation. The care for children and pregnant women demonstrates Abbott's commitment to contributing to intelligent and efficient diabetes management in China," said Jerry Guo, general manager of diabetes care of Abbott in Greater China.