A tiny panchayat in Kannur district went on a unique kind of strike on November 14 to draw attention to the threats posed by diabetes.
About 90 ‘chai kadas’ (tea shops), snack bars and hotels in Kannur’s Alakode panchayat went on a ‘sugar strike’ - refusing to serve customers sugar for one whole day to observe the World Diabetes day on November 14. The awareness campaign has now gained state-wide attention and plaudits.
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“Today you will only get tea and coffee without sugar and sugarless snacks and food in these outlets,” confirmed EJ Augustin, the health inspector at the Public Health Centre in Alakode, where about 10 percent of the population has diabetes.
Alakode panchayat and the local PHC had decided to observe the World Diabetes day on November 14 by raising awareness of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly diabetes.
“Not only did the shops and tea stalls cooperate with us, they also placed banners inside and outside of their establishments which announced that they would not serve sugar on Thursday,” EJ Augustin who was the brain behind the unique campaign.
The goal was to grab the attention of the people who visited these established for a cup of tea and some nibbles. “When they are told that they won’t be served sugar, they will ask why. We hope that on hearing the reason, they would at least take a minute to think about the dangers of diabetes and maybe get a check-up done,” he added.
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The panchayat also had events in connection with World Diabetes day, which included awareness programmes and a meeting held by diabetic couples who offered tips to the audience on how to keep the disease in check.
“There are over 360 persons with diabetes in Alakode panchayat out of a total population of 3600 people. Over 80 diabetic couples participated in the awareness campaign on Thursday,” Augustin added. Towards the end, a significant discussion was sparked on diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, and the importance of getting early detection as well as efforts to keep the disease in check.
As per a 2017 survey conducted on 12,000 adults by the Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram, 1 in 5 persons have diabetes, the Times of India reported. The study also revealed a high burden of pre-diabetes in the state, with 67.7 percent of adults between the age group of 45-69 years being either diabetic or pre diabetic.
A 10-year prospective study carried out by the Medical Trust Hospital and Diabetes care centre in Kulanada near Pandalam in Pathanamthitta which ended in 2019 revealed that incident of Type 2 diabetes mellitus was on the rise in Kerala.
The study, which was done through a door to door survey in 2 wards in Alappuzha starting from 2007, was to identify the rate at which people developed diabetes and other non-communicable diseases over the years.
According to reports, the study which was conducted with the support of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology, revealed that 1 out of every 5 persons was developing diabetes in the span of a decade. The report also added that the present prevalence rate of diabetes in Central Kerala, based on the study, was 27 percent compared to 14.6 percent in 2007. Similarly, prevalence rate of diabetes too has increased to 30 percent from 5 percent in 2007.
The World Health Organisation has stated that NCDs which included diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer, are responsible for 63 percent of the deaths worldwide. NCDs have also replaced previous global threats to health such as malaria, HIV and tuberculosis.