Excelsior Correspondent
New Delhi, Jan 13: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad launched the indigenously developed Diabetes Screening System and Test Strips, here today. The indigenous product developed by Birla Institute of Technology, Hyderabad and IIT, Mumbai will be manufactured by M/s Biosense Technologies.
Mr Azad said that indigenously developed screening system and strips will significantly lower costs and thereby dramatically increase accessibility and equity in terms of diagnosis and control of Diabetes and have a tremendous socio-economic impact throughout the country. Today’s launch will make screening for blood sugar affordable to millions by achieving our target of a price below Rs. 5.00, less than 20% of the lowest priced strips currently available in the market, he added.
These new technologies have a clear potential applicability to nearly 13 crore Indians who are diabetics or pre-diabetics. In the long run, it is expected that these will go a long way in helping the programme as well as communities for early detection of diabetes in the country. These indigenously developed devices and testing strips will make the screening and detection of diabetes at mass scale feasible and affordable. With this launch, the journey begins towards self-reliance of India in its fight again rapidly growing challenge of diabetes.
Mr Azad said that among the Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Diabetes mellitus is rapidly rising all over the world. Globally, it is estimated that there are about 382 million people living with diabetes. India alone is reported to have more than 65 million cases of diabetes, second largest number of diabetic patients after China. The Minister expressed concern that with an estimated 175 million people (nearly 50% of known diabetics) currently un-diagnosed, a vast number are simply unaware of their condition and progressing towards complications without any effort at control or treatment.
The Health Minister stated that India entered into a paradigm shift, by launching the National Programme on Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, CVDs, and Stroke in the year 2010 in 100 selected districts taken up initially as pilot project across 21 States.This was done to accord the highest priority to the prevention, early detection, treatment and control of NCDs by creating awareness about these diseases through print and electronic IEC, providing funds for up-scaling infrastructure and human resource.
Speaking on the impacts of Diabetes Mellitus, the Health Minister said the impacts are considerable as Diabetes increases morbidity and mortality due to complications involving kidney, eye, heart and vascular system. The long term complications cause a heavy economic burden on the diabetic patients themselves, their families and society.The estimated 77 million pre-diabetics in India will be immensely benefitted by early screening and diagnosis as the onset of disease can be prevented for several years with exercise and other life style changes, he noted.
The Minister said that since imported testing strips are quite expensive and repeated testing requirements make the feasibility of expanding screening strategy to all the districts difficult. Thus, the affordable screening system and testing strips launched today are of crucial importance.
Present at the occasion were Dr VM Katoch, Secretary, Health Research & DG, ICMR; Nilanjan Sanyal, Secretary, Ayush; Anuradha Gupta, Addl Secretary and Mission Director, NHM; Dr AK Das; Air Marshal D P Joshi, officials of MoHFW, and scientists and officials of ICMR.
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