UNICEF joins Bengal govt's efforts to combat juvenile diabetes

Kolkata: UNICEF has paired with the West Bengal Health & Family Welfare Department to take the treatment and care for the children suffering from non-communicable diseases such as juvenile diabetes to the grassroots level.

Also known as Type 1 diabetes, juvenile diabetes is caused when a child's body destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin to keep blood sugar levels stable. As a result, the children have to inject insulin several times a day.

According to the chief of UNICEF in West Bengal Dr Monjur Hossain, the joint initiative aims at developing a primary health care (PHC) oriented model for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in children through strengthening of community and primary healthcare systems and provisions.

Elaborating on the roadmap in the matter, Dr Vandana Bhatia, a health specialist of UNICEF, said that as the first step, UNICEF will be training healthcare providers like medical officers, staff nurses, ANMs, ASHA workers, community health officers on juvenile diabetes and other childhood non-communicable diseases.

“It will also help in the identification and referral of more children to the non-communicable diseases clinics,” Bhatia added.

It is learnt that currently five districts in West Bengal namely Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and East Burdwan as well as the state-run SSKM Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata have non-communicable diseases clinics to address Type 1 diabetes. Nearly 600 children are being treated annually in these places.

Hossain informed that another 10 district hospitals have received the government’s approval for starting the clinics and later the facility will be extended across the state.

As per the data available from the Young Diabetic Registry of India, five out of one lakh (1,00,000) children suffer from juvenile diabetes in the country. According to Dr L Swasticharan, Addl DDG & Director (EMR) of Union Health Ministry, the changing behavioural pattern and consumption of junk food by young adults and children are leading to the growing endemicity of non-communicable diseases among them across the country