Special Correspondent

Margao, Nov 17: Lions Club District 324 D2’s zone VII launched the first ever campaign at Vasco here against juvenile diabetics, recently.

The World Diabetes Day and Children’s Day in India fall on the same day bringing into focus the earlier onslaught of this deadly disease. The Lions Clubs of Mormugao taluk held its first camp in Vasco.

There are about one million juvenile diabetics in India with about 70,000 adding each year. Every year 27,000 diabetic children aged two to four around the world die of the disease. In all 45 percent of them, more than 12,000 in figure, die in India itself. There is no count of how many die undiagnosed.

Lions Club International that intervenes in the issues of community interest through its Zone VII of Lions International District 324 D2 has started a campaign to increase awareness of the disease. As a part of the Children’s Day celebration, a 15 member team led by zonal chairman (zone VII, district 324 D2) Dr Anand Thakur and cardiologists, surgeons, general physicians amongst others conducted an onsite juvenile diabetic camp in a Vasco based school.

'We have been seeing an alarming trend in youngsters being susceptible to diabetes, only the numerous super-specialty hospitals in Goa, discovered that younger people were suffering heart attacks', stressed Dr. Thakur, a consultant pathologist himself. 'In this Camp, we have compared the height and weight ratio of teenagers and taken the basic blood test for random sugar to the children’s doorstep to see whether anybody is susceptible to the deadly disease', says the lions’ chairman for zone VII that comprises about a dozen clubs of Mormugao taluk.

Over 150 students of the age group 15 to 17 years were examined. The first of its kind attempt at mapping the juvenile diabetics in Goa will first move from school to school amongst higher secondary students then reach out to even younger students.

Juvenile diabetes is Type 1 category which develops in young age. To survive, the patient needs external complement of insulin. It is not infectious, nor hereditary, although genetics is thought to be a factor for diabetics. It strikes without respect to race, religion and caste. With depleted health and strength, the diabetic child becomes an easy prey to other diseases, infections and degenerative changes of vital organs especially to pneumonia, tuberculosis, gangrene, glaucoma.

While children from poorer families are the hapless victims, even those whose parents could afford to get them admitted to the school would often conceal their disease, circumscribed by the raging superstition even in civil society.

“Goans too have adopted the junk food culture from metros and involve themselves in unhealthy practices ranging from high fat, high cholesterol food to not exercising and  to even hiding the signs of the disease including obesity”, confirms Dr Pankajam Vaidya, a renowned cardiologist. ‘In these camps besides detection and risk of the disease, we also advise children to follow a healthy diet chart with more protein and fibre-rich food and keep fit with exercises’. 

Lions Club is launching a state wide campaign to educate children from ages two to 17. They would be taught not only how to remain fit but also go for check-ups for the disease.

For further details, interested can contact Dr Anand Thakur on 98230 19733 and Dr Yatindra Vaidya on 98505 79455.