With a view to control diabetes in the country, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has announced $1.6 million in grants to four health care institutions in the country to help improve diabetes education, prevention and care and increase health care worker capacity in rural and tribal areas and among the urban poor. The four institutions selected to focus on improving diabetes prevention and care among poor in rural, tribal and urban settings through the 'together on diabetes' initiative are the Mamta Health Institute for Mother and Child; Sanjivani Health and Relief Committee; All India Institute of Diabetes and Research and Swasthya Diabetes Hospital.

The International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) reports that 61.26 million people in India are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, ranking India second only to China in total cases and third behind the United States (10.9 per cent) and China (9.3 per cent) in terms of prevalence. By 2030, India will have 101.2 million people with type 2 diabetes, IDF projects.

“Stemming the rising tide of type 2 diabetes in India will require a concerted and sustained effort at the community level to ensure adults have access to the education, preventive measures and care they need to effectively self-manage their disease. The grants we are making today through our 'together on diabetes' initiative will test new ideas about how diabetes control efforts can be best designed and implemented to help adults in a variety of settings,” said John Damonti, president, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.

The Foundation has employed a similar capacity-building approach with its 10-year-old 'delivering hope' initiative to address hepatitis B and C in Asia, and its ongoing work to address unmet medical needs, reduce health disparities and build community health care capacity was recognised in late July by CMO Asia with an Asia’s Best CSR Practices Award in the Concern for Health category.

Mamta Health Institute for Mother and Child, a national organisation based in New Delhi and operating in 14 Indian states, will receive US$ 706,995 over three years to pilot a study to determine the feasibility of involving India’s lay community health workers (Accredited Social Health Activists) and integrating various systems of medicine including modern and AYUSH, to prevent and control non-communicable diseases, especially type 2 diabetes. All India Institute of Diabetes and Research in Naranpura and Swasthya Diabetes Hospital in Ahmedabad will receive US$ 465,685 over two years to develop and test a three-setting model to improve access to diabetes education, prevention and care for the poor in rural, tribal and urban settings.

Sanjivani Health and Relief Committee also from Ahmedabad will receive US $426,374 over four years to conduct a household-by-household study in 348 villages to identify type 2 diabetes and ensure early diagnosis of undetected diabetes among those with pre-diabetes or at high risk of developing diabetes. The study also will determine the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and related complications among the rural poor.