Targeted Transformation of Diabetes Care in India

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) about 63 per cent of people with diabetes say that the fear of developing diabetes-related complications affects their well-being. And around 28 per cent of people with diabetes find it hard to remain positive in relation to their condition. Hence the theme for this year's World Diabetes Day (WDD) 2024-26 observed on November 14, the world's largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people in over 160 countries, is Diabetes and well-being. Let's look at ways to reduce or reverse diabetes in India.

- Vandana lyer

The Indian Council of Medical Research– India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB) study published in 2023 reported that the overall weighted prevalence of diabetes in India was 11·4 per cent, accounting for 101 million people. The study findings also reported an alarming increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as prediabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Hence, there is a rising need to holistically manage the rising diabetes prevalence by improving awareness, diet, lifestyle, screening, treatment and monitoring practices in India.

Public and Private Campaigns for Improving Awareness

A study of the National Family Health Survey of India (NFHS), 2019–2021 reported that diabetes awareness varied from 14.4 per cent to 54.4 per cent. Not surprisingly, the less educated and poorer sections of the society had lower diabetes awareness. Thus, considering the rising prevalence of the disease, there is a need to improve diabetes awareness in India. Several public and private initiatives are looking to address this concern.

However, it is important to ensure that the awareness campaigns have wider outreach.

For instance, mDiabetes, launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India and the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to provide basic diabetes information to users who dial a missed call to a number. This is likely to ensure a wide outreach as even rural Indian sectors have good mobile connectivity in India. In 2021, the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) launched the Defeat Diabetes Campaign to reach out to over 100 million people in 100 days to ‘test, track and treat’ diabetes. The campaign was successful and managed to screen over 106 million people in over 10,000 locations in India. There is a need to continue such targeted campaigns with well-defined outcomes and timelines.