KMC to Support Children Living with Type 1 Diabetes
KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab has announced a range of measures to support children living with Type 1 diabetes and their families, including providing space to the Diabetic Association of Pakistan (DAP) at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and other Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) hospitals.
Speaking as chief guest at a ceremony organised by DAP in honour of children living with Type 1 diabetes, the mayor said the initiative would make healthcare services more accessible to patients from different parts of Karachi and reduce the need for them to travel to the association’s office in Paposh Nagar.
Wahab also announced that roads around the DAP office would be constructed on a priority basis. He offered personal donations and financial support to the association and invited children to use KMC sports facilities, including swimming and other recreational activities.
Sharing his own experience with diabetes, the mayor said he was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 25 after losing weight and undergoing medical tests on his mother’s advice. He recalled being deeply upset when he received the diagnosis, but said his father, who was a doctor, encouraged him to accept it as part of life and maintain a positive outlook.
Wahab said he had reduced his consumption of sweets, walked regularly and controlled his blood sugar with medication. Addressing the children, he encouraged them to see themselves as ambassadors and role models, like legendary Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram, and said proper health management could enable them to succeed in any field.
DAP Secretary General Prof Abdul Basit said children living with Type 1 diabetes should not be treated as sick or limited because of their condition. Instead, they should be encouraged to live confident and productive lives.
He said more than a century had passed since the discovery of insulin, but an insulin tablet had still not been developed because insulin is a protein and therefore has to be administered through injection. He said DAP had completed 50 years of service and was among the 10 to 12 centres worldwide recognised by the World Health Organisation.
Prof Basit said DAP was providing free insulin, glucometers and medicines to around 2,500 children in Sindh and 400 in Balochistan, benefiting approximately 3,000 children in total.
He urged parents not to lose hope, saying that children with Type 1 diabetes primarily lack insulin and, with proper care and management, can grow up to become successful professionals in a wide range of fields.
DAP Vice President Shabeen Naz Masood said many well-known actors and athletes around the world were living successful lives with Type 1 diabetes while maintaining good blood sugar control.
