In view of rising cases of diabetes among children and adolescents, the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) has decided to distribute free insulin among children below the age of 15 years across the country.
It has been reported that 10-15 children per 1,00,000 under the age of 15 years develop Type 1 diabetes every year. Most of these children are dependent on insulin for survival and require frequent insulin injections for control of their blood sugar.
By way of free distribution of insulin, RSSDI aims to control the condition of fluctuating blood sugar levels in diabetic children and the related health problems they may acquire because of that at a tender age.
Also Read
"With around 65 million diabetics in the country, India is among one of the top countries in the world where the severity of diabetes is so high. Given that children as young as 3-4 years are being diagnosed with issues of fluctuating blood sugar level, it is a matter of huge concern.
"We recognised that the number of children who depended on insulin for diabetes management is also vast. But the bigger problem that we noticed was that insulin was inaccessible to many children particularly due to its cost which makes it unaffordable. Also, many states in the country do not provide free insulin putting children at more risks," said Dr S V Madhu, President of RSSDI.
The decision was taken in its two-day national executive meet recently.
This initiative will particularly benefit children of states where government agencies are not able to provide free insulin. For identification of diabetic children who are deprived of insulin, RSSDI will set up a national registry so that all those who are in need could benefit from its initiative.
Apart from it, the national executive decided to launch a diabetes helpline on World Diabetes Day in November this year to allow diabetic patients handle emergencies, to educate diabetic patients and let them understand the procedures better and spread information relating to the disease and its risk factors for the public.
