Villagers over 35 will be tested for diabetes: Azad

NEW DELHI - All villagers across India over the age of 35 will be tested for diabetes through easy and affordable test kits to reduce the burden of the lifestyle disease, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Sunday.

“We have a huge burden of diabetes. But awareness level about the disease is very low in rural areas. We are planning diabetes tests for villagers above 35 or 40 years of age,” Azad said.

“I have already held a series of meetings with my officers about it. We are serious about it and this is one of my own initiatives,” he said at a conference on diabetes in South Asia here.

Azad said testing 25 to 30 crore (250 to 300 million) people mainly above the age of 35-40 years through a glucometer will be a tough task. “To test 25 or 30 crore people through this will cost the government around Rs.1,500 to Rs.1600 crore (Rs.15 to Rs.16 billion) and this the health ministry can not afford. I have asked the department of health research to develop cost effective test sticks.”

“If we fail, then we are ready for a collaboration with private pharma companies to develop it. I will make sure that villagers get the facility,” the minister added.

Azad said that the stick, currently used in a glucometer costs around Rs.30 a piece. “Once we develop that here, it should not be more than Rs.5 or Rs.6,” he said, adding this would be the easiest way to control the disease.

“We will also ask the people to go for self checking of sugar level in blood through these sticks. Once they know about their sugar level, they can go and seek a doctor’s help.

“Regional newspapers and TV channels will also be mobilised to take up the cause,” Azad said adding that he was “careless about it” earlier but after becoming the health minister, he has taken it up.

India is home to over 30 million diabetes patients and the country is often referred as the diabetes capital of the world. Changing lifestyle and bad food habits are some of the key reasons for its spread across the country.