Zubair Qureshi
Around 100,000 children are estimated to have Type 1 diabetes in Pakistan and need insulin for the rest of their lives in order to lead a normal and healthy life.
However, unfortunately, many of them due to lack of awareness on part of their parents are not receiving regular dose of insulin as they have not been diagnosed timely. These views were expressed by physicians, senior endocrinologists and health experts said on Saturday while addressing a news conference at National Press Club (NPC). Among the most common symptoms of Type 1 diabetes are sudden weight loss, frequent urination and extreme hunger as well as change in the mood of the children and if such signs and symptoms appear, parents should take their children to qualified physicians and insist on checking the sugar level of their child, they said.
If parents are aware of symptoms of Type 1 diabetes and such children are treated by trained and qualified physicians, their lives can be saved with dose of insulin for rest of their lives”, Prof. Abdul Basit who is a renowned diabetologist and project lead of Changing Diabetes in Children said on the occasion.
Denmark Ambassador Jakeb Linulf, Manager Changing Diabetes in Children Irum Ghafoor, Dr. Zafar Abbasi, Rashid Rafique Butt, General Manager (GM) Novo Nordisk Pakistan and head of diabetes care at Roche Pakistan Sohail Malik were also present on the occasion. Prof Abdul Basit was of the view that not a single child should die due to unavailability of insulin and in this regard, they had launched the Changing diabetes in Children project in Pakistan some two years ago.
“The Health Promotion Foundation in collaboration with Novo Nordisk and Roche Pakistan is providing free of charge insulin to over 1500 children living with Type 1 Diabetes for the last two years. Our goal is to reach out to 3000 children whose parents cannot afford insulin throughout the country and provide them free of charge insulin to live a normal and happy life”, Prof. Abdul Basit added.
Ambassador Linulf of Denmark also spoke on the occasion and lauded the initiative by Changing Diabetes in Children Project and added it would be a pity if children were dying and their parents were not aware of the cause of their death.
There is a need to tell parents that early diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes can save lives of hundreds of children in Pakistan, he said adding there was also a need to train physicians and doctors regarding proper diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes and putting them on insulin as per guidelines. “The partnership between Novo Nordisk and Health Promotion Foundation is a significant stride towards improving the lives of children with diabetes,” he said.
Irum Ghafoor and Rashid Rafique Butt also spoke on the occasion and briefed the media about the efforts to reach out to children who have Type 1 diabetes. Novo Nordisk is striving to defeat serious chronic diseases such as diabetes adding that they know that it takes more than medicine to defeat diabetes which is why they were building partnerships, said Butt.
