10 lakh people in 10 cities to be screened for diabetes

Around 43% of diabetic patients in the country do not know they are suffering from the disease, which is usually diagnosed after their heart or kidney condition worsens due to it.

Therefore, the government is going to launch the "Country Changing Diabetes" project to bring 10 lakh people in 10 cities across the country under a diabetes screening programme and raise awareness about the disease.

In a joint effort of the local government, rural development and cooperatives ministry, Directorate General of Health Services, Diabetic Association of Bangladesh's Centre for Global Health Research, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), 10 lakh people in the country will be screened for diabetes in the next two years.

Under the project, vehicles will go to designated places in a city to detect diabetic patients in that area.

In addition to that, a mobile app designed to assist people keep diabetes under control has been developed, said Dr Bishwajit Bhowmik, project director of the Centre for Global Health Research, in a programme at the Birdem General Hospital auditorium on Tuesday.

Vehicles equipped to run diabetes tests will start operating in eight divisional cities, Gopalganj, and Cox's Bazar from August this year under the project.

Apart from diabetes tests, the vehicles called "Mobile Diabetes Centre" will offer eye, dental, ultrasonogram, and lipid profile tests free of charge. Those diagnosed with diabetes will be sent to medical colleges, Diabetic Society or nearest hospitals.

Dr Bishwajit Bhowmik said diabetes increases the risk of stroke by six times, the risk of heart attack by two-three times, the risk of blindness by 25 times, the risk of kidney damage by five times, and the risk of amputation by 20 times.

"Detecting diabetes early and controlling it can prevent premature death. People do not want to go to health centres, so we will go to their doorsteps," said Dr Bishwajit Bhowmik.

After running the project in 10 cities for 10 months, the government may expand it to areas where there are no resources or facilities for diabetes tests, he added.

App to inform users' risk of diabetes

An app called "Diabetes Risk Calculator" or DRC has been developed under the "Country Changing Diabetes" project. Without any blood test, the app will tell whether a person is at risk of diabetes.

The app will also tell how much the user should weigh and how many calories he should eat per day. It will also provide a free diet chart for the users.

The app will help the authorities concerned collect data about how many people are at risk of diabetes, how many are affected, how many are receiving treatment, how many have diabetes under control, and how many have other complications. As a result, it will also help in developing a diabetes monitoring system.