Novo Nordisk Partners with Schools for Enhancing Diabetes Awareness

ODISHA:
This World Diabetes Day, Novo Nordisk India Pvt Ltd joined hands with leading schools and clinics to create awareness about diabetes among school going children and their parents and school staff through a poster competition.
The poster competition was also held for children with type 1 diabetes across 1000 clinics nationwide. In addition, a
screening camp was also organized for the teachers, school staff and parents. According to International Diabetes Federation, there are 69.2 million people with diabetes in India (in 2015) and the number is estimated to rise to 123.5 million people by 2040.
As a growing number of young Indians are being diagnosed with diabetes, through this initiative Novo Nordisk India aims to reach out to the school going children and young parents to create awareness about diabetes and associated risks. As part of this campaign, Novo Nordisk also conducted sensitization workshops for the participating schools’ teachers on educating children on various healthcare issues, as a child spends around 8-10 hours in the
school.
Speaking on the occasion Melvin D’souza, Vice President and General Manager, Novo Nordisk India said- “By tackling diabetes early on, we have a unique opportunity to influence how we per
ceive and manage the disease. There is a need to educate our children to be aware of and feel comfortable dealing with diabetes. Awareness among children will help make a significant positive impact towards changing diabetes, which is on the rise among younger
age groups.”
The Novo Nordisk Education Foundation run Changing Diabetes® Barometer, presently operational in four states – Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry tied up with their respective state health departments and organized walkathons and educational sessions by healthcare experts in schools to create awareness among children.