Project Mittayi fails children in Kerala with type 1 diabetes

Kanhangad: Project Mittayi, launched with the aim to provide medicines for children with Type 1 diabetes, has gone off track. Medicines are currently unavailable both under the project and through Karunya Pharmacy.

Only slow-acting medicines, which take a prolonged time to show effect, are available. Parents of affected children visited Collector K Inbasekar en masse to submit a memorandum requesting the provision of rapid-acting medicines.

Children with Type 1 diabetes receive medication under the Project. With rapid-acting insulin no longer available, parents are forced to rely on slow-acting insulin, creating a crisis for school-going children.

Rapid-acting insulin needs to be administered just 20 minutes before meals, whereas slow-acting insulin must be taken 45 minutes prior. Parents of younger children visit schools to administer the insulin, while older children manage it themselves. In many cases, insulin has to be injected during classroom sessions. Medicines under the project are not available to children above 18 years of age.

The district currently has 126 children undergoing treatment for Type 1 diabetes. In some families, more than one child is affected, pushing them into financial hardship.

These children also suffer due to the absence of an endocrinology department and a shortage of doctors in the district. They are often compelled to seek treatment in other districts. Parents have also demanded the establishment of an endocrinology department at the district hospital.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister K N Balagopal, who visited the district yesterday, clarified that there is no financial constraint in providing medicines for children with Type 1 diabetes. He assured to check whether there are any issues.