Pratibha Patil Emphasizes Taking Diabetes Awareness To Rustic Regions

Indian President Pratibha Patil While lecturing at a function organized by the Delhi Diabetic Forum on Saturday in New Delhi, Indian President Pratibha Patil said that there is a need for a wide-ranging approach in order to take diabetes awareness to rustic regions of the country where people are totally ignorant about the ailment.

Mrs. Patil said that the rustic population is totally unaware about the disease so there is a need to organize special activities in villages to benefit the people living there.

While showing worry over the increase in diabetic cases, she said that WHO has predicted that each fifth person in the world with diabetes will be an Indian.

The number of people having the disease will be around 80 million by 2030, up from the current figure of 42 million.

Mrs. Patil said that the cost to handle diabetes, heart troubles and stroke will be more than $330 billion by the next 10 years, which is a large economic cost to India.

The president said, “WHO estimates that diabetes, heart disease and stroke will cost about USD 333 billion over next 10 years in India. This is a large economic cost to the nation. A comprehensive approach is needed to combat the increasing prevalence of these lifestyle diseases,” she said.

Putting pressure on life style change, increased physical activity, dietetic changes and de-stressing, she urged the people of the country to take up traditional knowledge including Yoga and meditation.

“According to the World Health Organisation India could become the diabetes capital of the world and dealing with any disease requires creating awareness among the people regarding its causes and prevention,” Ms. Patil added.

At last, she also urged the medical fraternity in India to keep themselves abreast with path-breaking and innovative results of the global medical research.

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