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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC

Concessions for children with Type 1 Diabetes

Syllabus- Government Policies and Interventions [GS Paper-2] Health [GS Paper-3]

Context- In a letter to the Chairman/Secretary Education Boards of all States and Union Territories, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) stated that schools are responsible for providing children with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) with the necessary care and facilities.

Key Highlights 

  • The petitions that NCPCR had received from the parents of children in the country who had been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes or T1D had been taken into consideration.

Type 1 Diabetes 

  • A condition known as type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas ceases completely to produce insulin. 
  • Insulin is a hormone that regulates the level of glucose in the blood by either increasing or decreasing its absorption into the liver, fat, and other body cells.
  • The majority of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are children and adolescents.
  • Despite its lower prevalence, it is significantly more severe than type 2.
  • When a person with type 1 diabetes stops taking their insulin, they die within weeks, in contrast to type 2 diabetes, where the body produces some insulin and can be managed with various medications. Insulin is never produced by the body.

How rare is it?

  • Over 10 lakh children and adolescents worldwide have type 1 diabetes, with India having the highest prevalence.
  • 90,000 to 15,000 of India’s 55,000 people with type 1 diabetes are under the age of 14. 
  • To put things in perspective, 7.7 crore people in India had diabetes in 2019. 

Who is at risk for type 1 diabetes?

  • Type 1 diabetes is thought to be an auto-immune condition in which the body’s immune system destroys the islets cells on the pancreas that produce insulin. The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown.
  • Hereditary elements assume a part in deciding if an individual will get type-1 diabetes.
  • The disease is strongly linked to the presence of particular genes as well.
  • For instance, type 1 diabetes patients have a prevalence of 30-40% of the genes DR3-DQ2 and DR4-DQ8, compared to 2.4% of the general population.
  • Over 2.4 lakh children and adolescents in the southeast Asian region are diagnosed with Type I Diabetes Mellitus (TIDM) in India, according to data from the International Diabetes Federation Atlas 2021.

Way Ahead 

  • In schools the class teacher should let a T1D child who needs a snack in the middle of the day eat it. 
  • A glucometer, glucose testing strips, continuous/flash glucose monitoring devices, or insulin pumps, snacks, and water should be permitted for those writing exams. 
  • Also the invigilator in the hall should allow the use of a smartphone if it is necessary to monitor sugar levels.
  • It is also necessary to make insulin available to all children with T1D and the government has a key role in ensuring this.

National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

  • The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act of 2005 authorized the establishment of the NCPCR, a statutory body, in March 2007.
  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development is in charge of its administration.
  • The Commission’s job is to make sure that every law, program, and administrative mechanism adheres to the child rights perspective outlined in the Indian Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  • Under the 2009 Right to Education Act, it investigates complaints regarding a child’s right to free and compulsory education.
  • It keeps an eye on how the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012 is being implemented.
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