CDRF

Bhubaneswar, Nov 11 (UNI) A state-of-the-art diabetes care facility, at a cost of Rs 100 crore, will come up here as a joint initiative of the Cuttack Diabetes Research Foundation (CDRF) and Kanungo Institute of Diabetes Specialties Pvt Ltd (KIDS).

Dr Alok Kanungo, an internationally acclaimed diabetelogist, told newspersons here that world centres like Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, which decides on the Nobel Prize for Medicine, has agreed to extend all technical support for advanced research and training.

Dr Kanungo said the institute, spread over an area of two acres and having latest equipment, trained manpower, fully computerised system for diabetes management, would be inaugurated by Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on November 14.

He said initially the institute would start with 55 beds which would be increased to 100 within a year.

Dr Kanungo said already Rs 15 crore had been spent on the infrastructure and another Rs 85 crore would be pumped in on equipment and infrastructure development in the next three to four years.

The institute would have a modern computerised world class laboratory, immunology lab, opthalmology department, dental clinic, diabetes mall, neurology clinic and ICU.

It would also offer specialised diabetes care, help in the early detection of complications and other solutions caused due to diabetes.

The project would also include a research block offering facilities for molecular, genetic, immunology, bio-medical, cell biology, drug trial research and radiation room.

He said the institute planned to start a national college of diabetelogy to train the diabetic care givers with the latest know-how on the disease and open diabetic information centre in every village of the state to educate the people about the disease.

The institute is the first of its kind in eastern India.

Dr Kanungo said there was a need for such an institute as more than 30 lakh people in Orissa suffered from diabetes and the number was growing.

Among other things, change of life style of individuals, stress, lack of awareness and change of food habits were contributing to the alarming rise in the number of diabetes patients.

He said according to a survey conducted by the CDRF, around ten per cent of the people in urban areas of the state and around three per cent people in rural were affected by diabetes but there were no proper facilities to treat them.

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