Rs 2.40 crore aid to JIPMER to fight diabetes

The World Diabetes Foundation(WDF) has awarded Rs 2.40 crore to Jawharlal Insitute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIMPER) for a project in the field of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, director of JIPMER  Dr T S Ravikumar said the project will be implemented in collaboration with the Puducherry administration. The main objective of the project is to improve prevention and care of diabetes and other associated non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as hypertension and cardio-vascular diseases in the Union Territory by the establishment of clinics.

The other objective of the project is to develop diabetes and other non-communicable care guidelines and its implementation.

The NCD clinics for diabetes, hypertension and cardio-vascular diseases will be established in 15 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres in all the four regions of the UT under the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare as well as in JIPMER, urban and rural health centres and the outreach centre of JIPMER at Karaikal.

The programme will assess the population affected by diabetes and provide basic treatment. The emphasis is on the capacity building by training physicians and other health professionals and will also rope in school teachers to create awareness. Around 300 physicians and 300 health workers will receive the training and around 100 teachers of 25 schools have been identified for the programme.

Prof Ashok Kumar Das, senior professor of medicine and medical superintendent of JIPMER, who is the principal investigator for the project, said that Puducherry has the highest prevalence of diabetes among the states. A  study conducted on office-goers a month ago by JIPMER shows that 13.9 percent of the population here are diabetic.

Another screening done as part of diabetes control programme by Government of Puducherry found that there is 16 per cent prevalence of diabetes in the rural area of Koodapakkam and 23.4 per cent in the urban area of Kosapalayam, said Dr K V Raman, director of Health and Family Welfare Department. Dr Balachander, head of the department of Cardiology, JIPMER, pointed out that almost 80 per cent of the cardiac complications are on account of diabetes. 

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