Press Release
Medical fraternity stresses the need to build capacity in the area of
Diabetes management at the joint Convocation ceremony of the ‘Certificate
Courses in ‘Evidence Based Diabetes Management’ (CCEBDM) and
‘Gestational Diabetes Miletus’ (CCGDM)
Jointly organised by Jupiter Hospital, Thane and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), New
Delhi, a total number of 74 successful candidates join an informed cadre of public health
practitioners with latest wherewithal in the field of diabetes management.
Launch of the Advanced Certificate course in Prevention and Management of Diabetes and
Cardiovascular Disease announced.
Thane 27th April 2014: Jupiter Hospital, Thane in consonance with Public Health Foundation of
India (PHFI) organized a joint Convocation programme of PHFI’s ‘Certificate Course in Evidence
Based Diabetes Management (CCEBDM)’ and Certificate Course in Gestational Diabetes Miletus in
Thane today. Present on the occasion was Chief Guest Dr. Sanjay Oak Vice chancellor Dr. D.Y.
Patil University Navi Mumbai, Guest of Honour Dr. H. B. Chandalia Senior Diabetologist at
Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai, Special guest Dr. Ajay Thakkar CEO, Jupiter Hospital, Thane along
with Dr Sandeep Bhalla, Program Director – CCEBDM & CCGDM, PHFI, Dr Benny Negalur and
Dr. Vijay Negalur Eminent Diabetologist , Thane and Regional Faculty PHFI. Convocation
certificates were given to a total number of 74 successful candidates, who now join an informed cadre
of public health practitioners with latest wherewithal in the field of diabetes management. At the
occasion, the launch of the Advanced Certificate course in Prevention and Management of Diabetes
and Cardiovascular Disease was also announced, which will further enhance the core competencies
of Physicians to address prevention of diabetes in patients with Chronic Heart Diseases. This will
enable early diagnosis and prompt referrals of patients and establish a referral linkage pattern, further
fortifying efforts to address the enormity of this disease in a comprehensive manner among medical
fraternity.
Chronic diseases disproportionately affect the economically disadvantaged, with 80 per cent of all
NCD deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries. India is home to over 61 million diabetic
patients — an increase from 50.8 million last year. By 2030, India’s diabetes burden is expected to
cross the 100 million mark as against 87 million earlier estimated. India’s diabetes burden is second to
China, which has 90 million people with diabetes (2011) that will increase to about 130 million by
2030.
Recent outcomes of the phase I of prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes in urban and rural India by
Indian Council of Medical Research-INdia DIABetes (ICMR-INDIAB) study estimates that
Maharashtra has 6 million individuals with diabetes and 9.2 million with prediabetes followed by
Tamil Nadu (4.8 million with diabetes and 3.9 million with prediabetes), Jharkhand (0.96 million with
diabetes and 1.5 million with prediabetes), and Chandigarh (0.12 million with diabetes and 0.13
million with prediabetes). Roughly, Maharashtra has as many people with diabetes as Mumbai's
population of 1.2 million during the 2001 census.
While handing over Convocation certificates to the successful doctors Chief Guest Dr. Sanjay Oak
Vice chancellor Dr. D.Y. Patil University Navi Mumbai in his address stressed that there is a need to
develop more innovative training and capacity building programmes and courses to address public
health challenges, especially diabetes which is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the entire
region. He said, “The prevalence of diabetes is increasing at an extremely rapid pace in India and
Maharashtra is no exception. There is an urgent need to build capacity in the area of Diabetes
management as Type 2 Diabetes has become a serious health threat with exploding population and
changing lifestyle, further leading to the prevalence of gestational diabetes in young mothers,
impacting the new-born. Both the CCEBDM and CCGDM courses developed by PHFI are a
pioneering concept that will surely enhance capacity of general Physicians, Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists with latest knowledge in Diabetes treatment, thus furthering the cause of treating
diabetes to a large number of individuals, families and communities in this region.”
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While congratulating successful doctors on successfully completing the course,
Guest of Honour Dr. H. B. Chandalia Senior Diabetologist at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai in his
addresses emphasized the importance of continuity of care in a chronic disease like diabetes and to
address this challenge path breaking initiatives such as computerized program that incorporates all the
clinical features of a case, investigations, diagnosis and treatment should be inbuilt to train physicians
in large scale. “Establishing continuity of care will permit doctors to follow recommended practice
protocols: like a complete cardiovascular, renal, retinal and neurological evaluation annually and a
blood sugar plus HbA1c once every quarterly. It is through such trainings that trainees get to develop
a good medical record system, which can be assessed in a matter of minutes for advice to patients in
case of emergency. An effort in this direction by PHFI, and senior regional physicians like Dr
Negalur is a fruitful attempt which will go a long way in strengthening the public health system and
needs.”
Special guest Dr. Ajay Thakkar CEO, Jupiter Hospital, Thane in his address said that “Jupiter
Hospital has always been sensitive towards public health issues especially in the non-communicable
and cardiovascular diseases area. I hope that successful doctors today take the responsibility and
duty to secure a healthy future for generations ahead.”
In his address Dr Sandeep Bhalla, Programme Director, PHFI, while expressing concern on the
increasing burden of NCDs and cardiovascular disorders in India said, “Diabetes and its
complications represent a rapidly expanding public health concern that is expected to affect people
with devastating health and economic consequences in the future. At PHFI, the focus has always been
to build public health institutional capacity in India through interdisciplinary and health system
connected education and training. Through innovative courses like CCEBDM, CCDGM and now the
new course ACMDC, the effort is to scale, translate and transfer emerging evidence from clinical
research to clinical practice so that doctors are equipped to handle cases on a daily basis. These
courses have been received exceptionally well throughout the country and have gathered tremendous
accolades not only from the participants and the academic fraternity but also by the International
Diabetes Federation, proving to be torch bearers in the field of Diabetes Management.”
In his address Dr. Vijay Negalur Eminent Diabetologist Thane and Regional Faculty PHFI said, “I
feel proud to co-host this unique initiative for building capacity of physicians in our region. Type 2
Diabetes (T2DM) and Gestational Diabetes Miletus have become a serious health hazard and are
achieving an epidemic and a global public health threat status. We need to have a trained set of
doctors who are equipped with the latest advances in Diabetes Management, and also follow the
latest international and national guidelines, which these courses provide, thus fulfilling this gap for
generations to come.”
Dr Benny Negalur, co-faculty and course coordinator emphasised that “Every third person in India
is affected by this dreaded disease, and now with lifestyle disorders rising by the day, diabetes
coupled with other diseases will become deadly. The need of hour is awareness, prevention, early
diagnosis and its management. These courses are an excellent attempt to fulfil the aim of reducing the
gap by training the medical faculty in the right direction”.
The Certificate Course in Evidence Based Diabetes Management (CCEBDM), presently in its 3rd
Cycle is being conducted in 19 States and One Union Territory in India with 134 centres in 73
cities. This course has recently become the first globally recognized model to train Primary care
physicians in evidence based diabetes management and has been given recognition by the
International Diabetes Federation (IDF), making it the first of its kind in South and South East
Asia. Similarly the Certificate Course in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (CCGDM) was recently
launched on 25th August 2013 Pan-India and is conducted in 55 Regional Centres, across India
covering 16 states, 1 union territory and 39 cities. These two uniquely designed pan-India
executive training courses for primary healthcare physicians, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
apprise doctors with the latest developments in the field of diabetes and gestational diabetes
management equipping them to deal with diabetes more efficiently in their day to day undertakings.
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