Background: Adherence to diabetes care is an issue of concern at Bishop Lavis Community Health Centre (BLCHC) as it results in so many diabetes patients ending up with complications that could have been avoided. Aim: To explore the reasons for people with diabetes in the Bishop Lavis area being non-adherent to diabetes care. Method: A qualitative study was undertaken. Three focus groups were held and seven in-depth interviews were conducted. The framework method was used to analyze the data. Findings: The main findings in this study was consistent with many of previous studies done on adherence, i.e. patient barriers, disease and drug regime barriers and doctor-patient relationship barriers.11 However, in this poverty-stricken area these participants also face other constraints that influence their compliance behaviour. These include 1.over-burdened public healthcare facilities, 2.insufficient education, 3.poor support structures, 4.infrastructure which is not wheelchair-friendly, 5.unsafe communities, 6.low income and unemployment. Conclusion: Non-adherence is a topic that has been widely researched over the last couple of years and it appears that the reasons are mostly consistent. However, in poverty-stricken areas it seems as if over-burdened public health services and social problems are the main reasons that need to be addressed. It is thus with great anticipation that we await the NHI plan of the government that will be rolled out as from 2012 to see whether it will better the health care services to the poor.