UNICEF has joined hands with the West Bengal Health & Family Welfare Department. The initiative aims to bring treatment and care for children suffering from non-communicable diseases, such as juvenile diabetes, to the grassroots level. Juvenile diabetes, also known as Type 1 diabetes, is a condition where a child’s body destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, which is essential for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. Consequently, children affected by this disease have to inject insulin multiple times a day.
Dr. Monjur Hossain, the chief of UNICEF in West Bengal, stated that the joint initiative is focused on developing a primary health care (PHC) oriented model for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in children. This will be achieved through the strengthening of community and primary healthcare systems and provisions.
Dr. Vandana Bhatia, a health specialist of UNICEF, elaborated on the roadmap of the initiative. As the first step, UNICEF will be training healthcare providers such as medical officers, staff nurses, ANMs, ASHA workers, and community health officers on juvenile diabetes and other childhood non-communicable diseases.
This training will also aid in the identification and referral of more children to the non-communicable diseases clinics, thereby ensuring that more children receive the necessary care and treatment. Currently, five districts in West Bengal, namely Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and East Burdwan, along with the state-run SSKM Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, have non-communicable diseases clinics to address Type 1 diabetes. These clinics treat nearly 600 children annually.
In addition to these existing facilities, another ten district hospitals have received the government’s approval to start similar clinics. This expansion will ensure that the facility is extended across the state, making treatment more accessible to children suffering from juvenile diabetes.
According to the data available from the Young Diabetic Registry of India, five out of one lakh (1,00,000) children suffer from juvenile diabetes in the country. Dr. L Swasticharan, Addl DDG & Director (EMR) of Union Health Ministry, pointed out that the changing behavioural pattern and consumption of junk food by young adults and children are leading to the growing endemicity of non-communicable diseases among them across the country.
In a related development, a study led by researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine and Indiana University suggested that an existing drug, α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), could be repurposed to treat Type 1 diabetes. This could potentially reduce the dependence on insulin as the sole treatment. The drug inhibits an enzyme that plays a key role in cellular metabolism. The researchers found that suppressing the metabolic pathway altered by DFMO helped protect the beta cells from environmental factors, hinting at the possibility of preserving and even restoring these vital cells in patients diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
The study, funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and using DMFO provided by Panbela Therapeutics, indicated that the drug is safe for Type 1 diabetes patients and can help keep insulin levels stable by protecting beta cells. The drug has already been FDA-approved as a high dose injection since 1990 for treating African Sleeping Sickness and received breakthrough therapy designation for neuroblastoma maintenance therapy after remission in 2020. This pre-existing regulatory approval could potentially facilitate its use in Type 1 diabetes, saving effort and expense and getting the treatment to patients sooner.