As a first step, 15 government and private schools of Delhi will be among the first in the country to receive information and valuable training on how to educate teachers; students and parents on diabetes. The information packs on managing diabetes from experts in healthcare, public health and health promotion was released last week in the presence of all stakeholders. The pack will offer information on diabetes management to students with diabetes, as well as teachers and parents. It also suggests interesting extra-curricular activities to engage children on the issue. The official of HRIDAY partmer NGO estimates that education sessions and information about diabetes will reach approximately three lakh students, teachers and families by the end of 2014. The KiDS initiative launched in India in September 2013 is a school-based intervention that aims to counter diabetes related discrimination and foster a supportive learning environment in schools around both types of diabetes. “The project is an excellent opportunity for us to empower teachers for reaching out to parents and seeking their cooperation—both in terms of caring for people with diabetes and for making efforts to prevent students from developing diabetes later in life,” said the official. School training sessions will focus on educating teachers and school staff on diabetes; symptoms associated with episodes of high and low blood sugar and how to respond in case of emergency situations. Educational sessions will also be available to parents and children. A ‘diabetes in schools’ app available in Hindi and English featuring interactive elements of the pack, will be available later in the year, ensuring that diabetes information reaches as many people as possible. ” Through the KiDS initiative, we have made an attempt to sensitize teachers, parents, students on diabetes and its related complications, many of which can be prevented through a healthy school environment,” said Dr. Monika Arora, Director- Health Promotion, PHFI. The KiDS project includes: - Phase 1 in 2014 – Awareness meetings and activities in schools, with key stakeholders such as regional authorities, nurses, teachers, parents and children.
- Development and distribution of a school diabetes information pack to help teachers educate parents and children about diabetes
Phase 2 – Cntinue to work with a multi-stakeholder approach to support the children with diabetes in school and to fight discrimination. Box Himachal Pradesh falls in the middle order rung for diabetes with 5.78 per cent while in 90s state has a prevalence rate of diabetes 0.4 per cent. The International Diabetes Federation has reported that the 65 million people with diabetes in India in 2013 rising to 109 million by 2035. In India, the Type1 burden is estimated at 10,900 children |