India is expected to have 57 million diabetic patients by 2025, making the country the diabetic capital of the world. People with diabetes spend three times of their valuable time for their diabetes care than other ailments. They do not get medical insurance easily, said Dr Gojka Roglic, Responsible Officer, WHO Diabetes Programme.

He was speaking in a seminar on 'Socio economic Impact of Diabetes and its complications' organized by the Chennai-based M V Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre at the Russian Cultural Centre here.

Delegates from different sectors including WHO, Insurance, Government, ISRO, Pharmaceuticals, and healthcare have participated in the Seminar and deliberations were done on solutions to address the impact of Diabetes on the livelihoods of people in country.

About 200 representatives including Doctors, Research Scholars, Paramedics, Post-graduate students have participated in the seminar.

The 'orientation program on socio economics for doctors and manual detailing the socio-economic aspects of Diabetes care' was formally unveiled by Andrew T Simkin, US consul general, Chennai in the presence of Dr Gojka Roglic, and Dr Vijay Viswanathan, managing director, MV Hospital for Diabetes. This programme was aimed at sensitizing medical practitioners on the socio economics of health care and diabetes.

Dr Gojka Roglic delivered the inaugural address by talking on 'Global burden of Diabetes and its complications'. His talk highlighted the prevalence of diabetes and how it becomes a real burden on the people and on the economy of the whole world.

Dr Vijay Viswanathan, managing director, MV Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre, Royapuram, Chennai, spoke on the 'Economics of Diabetes and its Co-morbid conditions', explaining the cost of treatment and how it affects people of the lower strata of the society. He mentioned that expenses for diabetes care were mostly out of pocket and very few people were able to get medical insurance. He added that most of the diabetic patients had to borrow, spend their savings, sell or mortgage property to pay for amputations, heart surgery and dialysis when they got complications.

This meeting, probably the first of its kind in India, discussed issues like economic burden due to diabetes, multi-sectoral approach for reducing the burden due to diabetes, effective payment modalities to help finance the patients for management of diabetes and its complications, reversal of the social economic gradients in diabetes in India and direct and indirect costs involved in diabetes care.

The seminar concluded with a panel discussion on 'The Strategies to Combat Economic Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases including Diabetes'. The panel discussion involved several panelists from across the industry spectrum such as from the Insurance Sector, World Health Organization, Government of Tamil Nadu, Indian Space Research Organization, Pharmaceutical Industry, Institute of Public Health and Health Care consultants.

The participants were awarded a Certificate of Participation from WHO Collaborating Centre for Diabetes.