Gandhinagar

Smile is quite visible on the face of Madhuben Jadav, 50, a resident of Bhimnath village in Botad district.

Few days back when she was diagnosed with diabetes at village’s primary health centre, her laborer family became anxious about the cost of treatment. But to her surprise, she was given free medicines and was ensured that she would get these medicines throughout her life, as a part of Gujarat government’s state-wide diabetes screening and treatment drive.

This drive holds great significance in today’s time as cases of diabetes are increasing world over, particularly in south Asian countries.

World Health Organization (WHO) has recently cautioned governments against it and asked them to make concerted efforts to prevent the disease. WHO has even selected ‘Beat Diabetes’ as the theme of this year’s World Health Day, April 7.

It is estimated that people suffering with diabetes spend about 20% of their income for its treatment. The toll is too heavy for the people of lower income groups. The drive against diabetes launched in last June by Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel, herself a diabetic, is a mammoth exercise aiming at screening every citizen of Gujarat for diabetes and providing lifetime free treatment, without any bar of caste and income.

To make this drive a success, government has equipped over 10,000 health centres with necessary instruments and medicines. About 47 lakh people have already got themselves screened so far and about 2.75 lakh who were found diabetic are being given free medicines. Madhuben is one of them.

Taking a step further, Gujarat government has also included in this drive free screening and specialist treatment of hypertension, breast and cervical cancer in women and oral cancer in men.

Chief Minster, during her public events, has not left even a single occasion to sensitize women about this drive.

No wonder then, that just in a short span of 10 months about 75 lakh women have got screened for cancer, and due to timely treatment many lives could be saved.

It is seen that patients of diabetes and hypertension are at higher risk of developing kidney and heart related complications. This is taken care of by state government’s immensely popular ‘MA’ and ‘MA Vatsalya Yojana’, which provides cashless treatment of critical diseases to BPL families and to those with yearly family income of less than Rs 1.20 lakh. About 30 lakh people are registered as beneficiaries of these two schemes and assistance of nearly Rs 300 cr has been given to the poor patients so far.

On the top of it, the government has announced to provide 575 essential medicines to people entirely free of cost, which covers many common diseases apart from diabetes and blood pressure. This will prove as a boon to the people having low incomes.

And for the little ones studying in schools, the government has ‘School Health Check Up’ programme, which covers health check up of 1.5 cr children across the State. Children with various ailments are given on-the-spot treatment. Last year the government included diabetes in the list of diseases covered under this scheme. Gujarat also became first state in India which started providing treatment of congenital diseases like Cleft lip and Club foot to children through this programme.

Upon connecting these dots, emerges a picture of a well-thought-out mechanism that not only gears up Gujarat to beat diabetes, but also makes available quality health services to every family, throughout their lives.

– DeshGujarat