Govt mulls plans to keep diabetes project on for three more years

Officials say they have devised PC-1; will extend to more districts and include awareness campaign.

PESHAWAR: In a bid to reach more diabetes-affected people across the province, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is mulling plans to expand its free insulin programme for an additional three years.

The extension, which will cost the government around Rs250 million, is expected to benefit 13,000 people living in different districts of the province.



The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) health department had launched its ‘Insulin for Life Project’ in 2014 at 16 centres set up in 12 districts. Registered diabetes patients are provided insulin for free under the programme.

According to a statement issued by the K-P health department on Thursday, Project Director Dr AH Amir stated that they had prepared a project concept-1 of the project.

“We have increased the number of covered districts from 12 to 15 and the health department plans to extend the initiative to the entire province,” Dr Amir was quoted as saying, adding that both the registration process and the mechanism for providing medicine to diabetes patients were being computerised.

The health department now plans to extend the project to Peshawar, Mardan, Charsada, Nowshera, Chitral, Swat, Abbottabad, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Haripur, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, and Lakki Marwat.

Talking about the programme, Dr Amir stated that by providing free insulin to people suffering from type-1 and type-2 diabetes had yielded positive results with a host of diabetes-related problems including fading eyesight, failing kidneys and heart issues being addressed.

“5,087 patients have been saved from amputations alone,” the statement read, adding, “2,882 patients with kidney and 2,882 diabetic patients with heart diseases were helped in avoiding complexities.”

However, the project extension does not solely focus on providing free insulin to patients. Rather it will also include awareness campaigns where the public would be sensitised about diabetes and other related diseases and threats in case the disease is not properly treated.

When contacted, Dr Amir stated that a sum of Rs250million has been approved by the provincial government to continue the programme for the next three years.



He added that the purpose of extending the project to other districts of the province was “to facilitate people at their doorsteps”.

“This is not only insulin but by extending the programme to other districts, it will help us sensitise the general public on how to protect against diabetes,” Dr Amir told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2017.