Patna, April 20: People in attendance at the two day-diabetes exhibition and camp that kicked off today in the state capital availed of free diabetes screening and consultation.

The event, which is being held at the Indira Gandhi Science Complex auditorium, has been organised by the Bihar Health Society (BHS) and Novo Nordisk Education Foundation.

Vinay Ransiwal, trustee, Novo Nordisk Education Foundation, said the initiative would also be taken to several other parts of the state in a phase-wise manner. “We had signed a memorandum of understanding with BHS in March this year to implement the Changing Diabetes Barometer (CDB) initiative in the state and this exhibition is the first step in this direction. CDB is a major global initiative, which aims to capture important dimensions of the fight against diabetes and establish measurability, allowing the tracking and guidance of healthcare improvements,” said Ransiwal.

Sources said there are around 50.8 million people with diabetes in the country and the economic cost of the disease is estimated to be 2.1 per cent of the GDP. The cost of diabetes includes loss of productivity, treatment cost and complications like heart diseases, hypertension and diabetic retinopathy.

More than 100 people availed of free facilities like health measurement, blood sugar test, haemoglycol test, foot and eye test, apart from medical and diet-related consultation with doctors and experts. A mobile van, to be flagged off from Patna on April 22 by health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, will also visit various parts of the state and people can get free tests done for diseases.