Around 1,200 children aged below 18 in Kerala are out of the ambit of the State Government’s ‘Mittayi’ scheme for those suffering from Type 1 diabetes as their parents’ annual income is over ₹2 lakh.
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Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition, in which the pancreas makes either a little or no insulin that helps blood sugar enter cells for use as energy. This leads to high levels of sugar in the blood and results in further complications. Earlier found mainly in kids, this condition is now seen in adults as well. There is no cure. The patients will have to manage their sugar levels using insulin injections and managing their diet and lifestyle. The cost of treatment is high too.
The State Government, under the Kerala Social Security Mission, launched the ‘Mittayi’ scheme in 2018 to provide them free insulin therapy and devices for continuous monitoring of glucose levels. The beneficiaries are supposed to register with the mission. Under the scheme, the parents are also made aware of the condition to help their kids learn to live with it.
The government, however, laid down certain conditions. The applicant should be aged below 18 and the annual income must be less than ₹2 lakh.
As many as 910 children registered with the mission in 2018, and the number went up to 1,636 in 2021 and 1,710 in 2022. Official sources said that till August 2023, a total of 2,122 have registered with the mission. If the number of those who have not registered is added up, there could be around 4,000 affected patients in the State. The highest number are reported to be from districts such as Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam.
Functionaries of the Type 1 Diabetic Welfare Society, a Kozhikode-based collective of parents of children suffering from the condition, say that the limit on annual income has turned out to be a cause for concern. “The cost of treatment is often beyond the capacity of many families. There are around 1,200 children aged below 18 who are suffering from the condition, but their annual income is above ₹2 lakh. In reply to our request, the Social Justice department had said in 2019 that the income limit can be removed. But so far, no steps have been taken,” P.T. Abdul Jaleel, State secretary of the society, says.
Replying to a question by A.P. Anil Kumar, MLA, Minister for Social Justice R. Bindu replied in the Assembly on March 16,2022, that the demand to do away with the annual income limit “can be examined.” Officials in the mission were not available for comments.
Published - October 18, 2023 08:18 pm IST
