Awareness programs for children about diabetes ought to be innovative: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh, on Saturday emphasized the need to make people aware of the means of self-management for better outcomes in diabetic care among children.

Dr. Singh said that awareness programs for children ought to be innovative, child-friendly and capable of capturing the interest of the young and adolescent minds.

Even as insulin injection is the only viable option available for survival of such children today, he hoped that very soon there would be a viable oral insulin option also available with us.

The Minister of State, who inaugurated Afro-Asian conclave on diabetic children here today, in his inaugural address said, "In our preoccupation with rapidly spreading epidemic of adult Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus, there is sometimes a tendency to ignore the fact that there are over 75000 children with Type-1 Juvenile Diabetes in India who require lifelong insulin for survival."

Dr. Singh recalled that very early in his career as a medical practitioner and diabetologist, he had realized that a high rate of death or mortality among such children was because of the fact that in many cases, the parents were unable to afford insulin for lifelong treatment and, therefore, ever since 1996 he made it a rule for himself to provide free insulin to every destitute diabetic child who was insulin-dependent.

Till date, he said, there are dozens of such children who have received free insulin from him, some of whom have since grown up, married and employed.

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Appealing to all the medical practitioners to adopt this approach of free insulin to destitute diabetic children, Dr. Singh said that to bring about a smile on the face of these little ones is the highest form of worship equal to a religious pilgrimage and for a medical practitioner, it is as holy as paying obeisance at a temple, mosque or any other place of worship.

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Referring to the Changing Diabetes in Children (CDiC) program which was dedicated to the country by former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, he said that to strive for the care of economically deprived diabetic children is one way of serving the nation through the profession.