ID :
73770
Tue, 08/04/2009 - 19:01
Auther :

Azad for compulsory blood tests to check diabetes

New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) In a major initiative to check
diabetes, the Centre is contemplating compulsory blood tests
for the entire population of the country.

Set to be floated under the National Rural Health Mission
(NRHM), the new project will seek to cover the entire
population, specially the urban and rural poor, Union Health
Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told PTI.

"I have asked the department of research to formulate a
plan and may be we will also look into the feasibility of a
public-private partnership mode for this," he said.

According to him, the symptoms of diabetes are not
recognised in villages and thus people just keep on taking
non-prescription medications like Cronin to cure themselves.

Azad contended that "81 per cent of diabetes can be cured
just by taking precautions such as changing food habits,
exercising regularly and changing other lifestyle causes.

"Thus for the have-nots or the poor people this will be a
boon as they can control their blood sugar just by taking
these measures if they know of their condition," he said.

Azad, however, agreed that the project was a costly one
and needed enormous funds. "This a very costly affair. I have
contacted external agencies and private organisations also".

"The chip and needle will alone cost Rs 30 per head. This
is apart from the testing equipment.

"I want to club this with NRHM," Azad said, adding
manpower would then not be a problem as the NRHM structure
along with the ASHAs would be used to carry out the blood
tests.

According to experts, India, already the diabetic capital
of the world, is heading towards a diabetic explosion, with 70
million people to be affected by 2015, a decade ahead of
expectations.

Fueling the alarming trend is the rise in diabetes
prevalence in rural areas.

According to Diabetes Atlas published in 2007, there are
246 million diabetics across the world, with 80 per cent of
them in the developing and underdeveloped countries. India,
according to these statistics, has 40.9 million diabetics. PTI

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