Two Indian doctors, who are also sisters hailing from Gujarat, Dr. Smita Joshi and Dr. Shukla Raval, are appealing to the NRI community in the US for support in their campaign to provide painless advanced diabetes care to Indian children suffering from type1 diabetes.
In a press release June 30, 2025, they say that after India has the highest number of type 1 diabetic children. The United States ranks second. However, because of the use of painless advanced diabetes care in the West, these children do not have to suffer the pain of daily insulin injections. Also, they say, life expectancy of children in US is 70-80 years, whereas in India, the life expectancy of children suffering from diabetes is only 20-40 years.
According to the two doctors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of Make in India could be a solution to this problem. However, to do research on indigenous manufacturing of affordable Advanced Diabetes Care in India, Drs. Joshi and Raval, are hoping to learn from US examples. They are traveling around the US at their own expense, in the states of California, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio etc., meeting Indian origin experts, renowned doctors, scientists in universities, and other organizations for the next four months i.e. July, August, September and October.
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They have started this research campaign from San Francisco, Ca., to seek cooperation from Indian Americans. They are inspired by Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, AIIMS, Director Dr. M. Srinivas, who they met while spreading awareness about diabetes type 1 in ten states in India. He told them that the MRI machine in AIIMS Delhi is indigenous and Make in India, which is quite cheap. Whereas, earlier these MRI machines used to come from foreign companies. In these costly machines, the plate is the most important, and that is also made by a company in India.
Both the sisters have been involved in spreading awareness about the condition and engaged in policy-making at the national level in India. In the past, they have also traveled 7,000 kms by car at their own expense from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in India and from west to East coast in states of America. They say that it was because of their efforts that the state governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan have, for the first time in India, taken important decisions in their budget speeches to establish special cells for type 1 diabetes in all the medical and health centers of the state. On the same lines, commendable steps have also been taken in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh).
The two doctors are hoping that the Make in India policy in coordination with India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, would be able to produce advanced diabetes care in the country. “Then, not only will we be able to make a commendable contribution to the whole world for diabetes treatment, but we will also be able to prove the concept of making India a world leader once again,” they say.
In addition, manufacturing painless Advanced Diabetes Care in India, would be the humane way to avoid pain for children and their mothers and fathers on a daily basis.
With the support that they are garnering, Drs. Joshi and Raval say, “We all wish that children suffering from diabetes in India get painless treatment and long life.”
Among those already helping their campaign are Dr.Anil Raval, trustee of Dr. Vasudev J. Raval Charitable Trust, Unjha, Dist. Mehsana Gujarat; Dr. Ketan Joshi, president of Physician Association of India, Gujarat (2024-25) and Children of Family, Dr. Raja Joshi and Dr. Mann Pancholi.