Second in the list of countries with highest number of diabetes cases! Sounds familiar? It should because we are talking about India! With a whopping 33 million cases, the country figures second only to China in this list. If that is frightening, a more alarming fact is that by 2025, India is estimated to have 75 million cases of diabetes. The disease needs to be tackled with immediate effect.
Some organisations have been trying to create awareness about the disease through various ways. Asha Medical Foundation, a non-profit organisation has been conducting free check-up camps in the City. They have held mobile medical camps as part of the Tele Health Check (THC) programme.
The THC uses modern technology to conduct these tests. The THC medical devices communicate with a hand-held PDA device after which the data get transmitted to the PDA device and then to the medical centre. This allows Asha’s team of qualified specialists to come to your home if necessary to conduct the tests.
The THC programme covers tests like ECG, blood pressure, blood glucose, oximeter and spirometer. So for those who want to get a check up done, but are unable to go to a medical centre, you can have the tests done at home.
Asha has held camps at various parks in the City for morning walkers, joggers and other park-users. They have been conducting free check-up camps for traffic police officials as well. Says Priya Srinivas, Vice President and Nutritionist, Asha Medical Foundation, “Police officials have very hectic schedules and have no time to go for medical check-ups. They also have odd lifestyle; they stand for hours together and are exposed to a lot of pollution. So we felt we should conduct these camps for them. We have conducted the camps for officials in Jayanagar and JP Nagar police stations. We intend to carry this forward with other government organisations as well.”
They also stress on the fact that diabetes has increased because of the change in lifestyle. “Pollution and obesity are of major concern these days,” says Priya. The organisation plans to continue with this awareness programme because India has not tackled the problem. Says Priya, “India has only a two per cent share in the global diabetes research. So there isn’t enough work being done in the field.”
Statistics show that diabetes is claiming as many lives as HIV/AIDS, with one person dying from diabetes-related causes every 10 seconds. Initiatives like these would hopefully come as a wake-up call.
