Provide quality insulin to children with Type 1 diabetes: Keralam child panel

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The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has directed the Health and the Social Justice department authorities to provide quality insulin to children with Type 1 diabetes.

The commission directed the Health director, Social Justice Secretary, and the Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM) executive director to take steps to make quality medicines and benefits available as per the 2018 KSSM scheme.

The commission directed the KSSM executive director to roll back the changes brought in the Mittayi scheme in the 2025-26 financial year and take steps to provide to children with medicines and other benefits that were being provided from the time the Mittayi clinics started functioning.

The Mittayi scheme was launched to provide comprehensive support and continuous treatment for children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes through Mittayi clinics.

A bench of K.V. Manoj Kumar, commission chairperson whose term has since ended, and members Shajesh Bhaskar and Wilson F. was acting on a petition from Bushra Shihab and others of the Type 1 Diabetes Foundation (Kerala) and Abdul Jaleel P.T. of the Type 1 Diabetic Welfare Society. The commission has sought an action-taken report within 45 days

The petitioners had argued that for the past year-and-a-half, low-quality insulin was being distributed through the Mittayi scheme. This was affecting children’s health and disrupting their education since they developed diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

They had alleged that the previous LDF government had cited financial diffculties for making the shift to regular insulin instead of rapid-acting insulin. The authorities had told them that even regular insulin would not be available for an entire month for children.

The parents of children with Type 1 diabetes said they had submitted a number of complaints but the problem was not addressed.

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