According to the International Diabetes Foundation, 1 in 11 people in India have diabetes. Nearly 73 million adults have been diagnosed with the disease, with over 42 million cases going undiagnosed and untreated. By 2045, this number is expected to almost double.

Diabetes tends to be perceived as more prevalent among the wealthy. However, the disease is a serious concern among people living in poverty in rural areas in India due to their reliance on the federal government’s public food assistance program, which distributes polished rice grains that have shown to correlate with the rising prevalence of diabetes. Therefore, we are trying to increase awareness of diabetes and nutrition in rural communities, encouraging use of unpolished millets rather than polished rice in people’s diets.

In 2010, we began our diabetes diagnosis, awareness, and treatment camps in rural India. Every summer, we conduct 4 to 5 camps, covering several villages in southern India. At each camp, we screen 100-150 people for diabetes free of cost, with goal of increasing awareness of diabetes and hopefully decreasing diabetes prevalence in future generations. In the future, we plan to conduct the camps twice a year and provide clinics to follow up with patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes. We are also exploring ways to provide insulin for free to these patients.

We give thanks to the following partners:

• Kudumbam, a nonprofit located in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, teaching local farmers about millets. Kudumbam volunteers have been instrumental in the smooth conducting of our camps each year.
• Karai Labs from Karaikal, Pudcherry, who provide our camps with lab equipment and technicians to screen for diabetes.
• Dr. Umamaheswari and Mr. Muthukrishnan, Board members of Thiruvalluvar Tamil School in Karaikal, Puducherry, who have played an important role in helping us find the above partnerships and organizing our camps locally .