T TYLE LIFES E E TH OU SAND WITH FREE RAMM ROG P B CEEN VID E AV D S AVVO O ID TYPME AS P E 2 D IABETES ED NHS S

ag Bakhai Dr Chir

Around 90% of people with diabetes in the England haave type 2 diabetes. W ve With currents trends suggesting that 1 in 10 people might haave the conditi ve condition by 2030, preventing type 2 diabetes is more important now than ever befforore.

“People with an ethnic origin from the Indian subcontinent are at much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The condition generally develops at younger ages and at lower levels of excess weight compared to what is typically seen in people of es,” sa white ethniciti ays ys Dr Chirag Bakhai a GP and hirag Bakhai, Primary Care Advisor to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.

Dr Bakhai continues, “TType 2 diabetes can ha ype have serious complications such as blindness, nerve damage and ulcers leading to amputations, as well as increasing the risks of k heart attacks and strokes. es. The best way to avoid the complications is to prevent the condition in the first place. For people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, adopting a y lif healthhy liffestyestyle with regular cal activity and k physi keeping eeping off excess body weight can e all the diff makke diffffererence.”

Whilst factors such as family history, pre-existing health conditions, age, and ethnicity are all risk factors, liffestyestyle choices, such as diet h and physiysical activity, remain the crucial markkers in ers in lik determining the kelihood elihood of developing type 2 diabetes and its prevention.

The NHS offffers the fr ers free er Y Healthi You NHS Diabetes ou ogramme f Prevention Pr for or those at risk. Lasting nine months, this behavioural and liffestyestyle change programme has seen over ef 1.3M people r ferrerred to it to help lower their blood sugar levels through making sustainable changes to their h diet and physiysical activity and, ultimately, avoid the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Harr y Matharu joined the programme after his GP diagnosed him as having nonc h diabeti hyperglyperglycaemia of c (pre-diabetes

“The progra y lif m my liffestyestyle, run most da energy inste and tired. I a s). He says, amme changed I now swim or ays. I am full of ead of lethargic am also mindful y from a size 42 waist to a size t f 28, I couldn’ feel happi eel happier “Being of Indian origin, I knew that we are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but I didn’t think it would happen to me,” says Kishor Chauhan from eenfGr forord, who started er Y attending the Healthi You ou

NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme after routine blood tests showed high sugar levels.”

Kishor continues, Although I was already active and had a good fruit and veg diet, I must admit I indulged in sweets. The ha liffestyestyle changes I ave ve made educe m have helped me r y blood sugar level and I have also lost 7kg in weight. I highly recommend those at risk of type 2 diabetes join the programme.” y g yp

B lack Caribbean Asian, B om a Chinese, South fr e ou ar 2 diabetes if y

Pro tak and dev ded and sm to ogramme can help you to k ke con e control of your health d manage your risk of veloping type 2 diabetes. With the support of dicated trained coaches ou can mak d experts, y ke e mall, manageable changes h your diet, physiysical tivity routine, and weight anagement, reducing your k of developing type 2 abetes.

Participants can choose tween face-to-face groups local venues and a digital rvice providing coaching rough apps and websites.

The latest evaluation of e programme has shown 20% reduction in type 2 abetes incidence amongst dividuals who have been er Y f ferrerred to the Healthi You ou HS Diabetes Prevention ogramme. Previous have shown that people completing the ogramme ha pr ave a 37% l ve lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

T To o find out if you are at risk of developing type 2 ch f diabetes, sear for “ or “diabetes know your risk” online ete a f and compl few simp ew simple questions on the Diabetes UK website, including about your age, ethnicity and if you have a close relative with diabetes.

If the tool says that you are at moderate or high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, contact your GP ce f practi for a simp or a simple blood test to check your sugar evels and assess f l for diabetes. or e f If you ar found to ha ound have nonh diabetic hyperglyperglycaemia (pre-diabetes), you might be ef e f eligibl for a r or a r ferral to the erral Y Healthier You ou NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.

Air India CEO takes note of diaspora’s concern

Asian Voice and Gujarat Sam achar receiv ed a huge amo unt of public feedback in reference to the closing o f th e London Heathrow-A hmedabad direct flight o perations and div erting it to the Gatwick Airp ort

We wrote a letter to the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India Mr Campbell Wilson and informed him that this decision made the ‘Living Bridge’ upset We urged him to reconsider the decision of moving the London Heathrow-Ahmedabad direct flight to Gatwick Mr Wilson replied to our letter and mentioned various reasons for this change We thank him very much for taking the note of the concerns of the diaspora We are working on a detailed report involving experts, travel agents and diaspora leaders We will keep you updated on the progress of this issue in due course

Imperial College London introduces new scholarship programme for Indian students

A n e w sc ho l a r sh i p p r ogr amme the 'Future Leader s S ch o l a r sh i p' ha s b e e n l a un c he d b y t he Im pe r i a l Col lege London for Indian Maste rs students

Over the next three years, around 30 students will receive support from the programme with half of the scholarships reserved for female scholars The scholarships will be for students in MSc programmes including Engineering, Natural Sciences, Business School and Medicine

The launch was aimed to mark the university’s tour by Indian Minister for Science & Tech, Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, to meet researchers and students and strengthen ties with India

On a visit to Imperial’s Carbon Capture Pilot Plant the Minister saw how Imperial students are training to become the next generation of chemical engi-

New UK funding to boost education opportunities for women and girls in Southeast Asia

A n e w U K fu n de d p r ogramme will offer some of t he mo st m a r g in a l i se d wo me n a n d g i r l s in So ut h e a st A s ia a b e t t e r future by b oosting a ccess t o a quality education

Funding will go towards improving the quality of education for women and girls by prioritising teaching basic reading and maths skills to unlock their full potential

The programme will expand women and girls’ access to digital and technical education – focusing on what skills are needed to gain employment in highskill sectors such as technology and manufacturing

It will also promote the inclusion of remote and minority communities, urban poor and children with disabilities by setting up disability assessments to identify additional needs and medical referrals for eye tests

International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell was due to announce the funding at the Education World Forum (EWF) conference in London on Tuesday - the largest international gathering of education ministers

Have you come under the pressure of performance?

Rohit Vadhwana

Andrew Mitchell

children stay in school

UK expertise will help schools improve the quality of teaching through lesson planning and in-class support so more children are able to read and understand a short story by the age of ten years old This means the programme will directly support progress towards the UK’s commitments for 40 million more girls in school and 20 million more girls reading

It is part of the UK’s effort to improve effectiveness of education and follows the recently announced Scaling Access and Learning in Education programme to help get an additional six million girls around the world into school

Recently Kelvin Kip tu m w on th e TCS Lo nd on Maratho n 20 23 in the second fastest time in w orld h istory At the young age of 23 years, he h as pro ven his capability in th e last year by becoming the fastest-ev er marath on debut at the Valencia marath on in 20 22 On the o ther hand, Eluid Kipch oge, who is considered th e all-time best long-d istance runner of the world finished 6th in the Boston Marathon, h is slowest till now He is now 38 years old Both are Kenyans

There are discussions as to whether Kelvin is coming up as Kipchoge 2 0 It certainly puts a lot of pressure on Kelvin to perform He has just begun and is yet to prove his ability to continue with the same amount of success and energy in future In many sports, it is easy to start well but not easy to continue that efficiently It doesn't mean the player is not good, but sometimes it is difficult to sustain the performance In such cases, when people raise the expectation by comparing with someone who has been steady and successful, the amount of stress on the newcomer is evident Many athletes and sportspersons have started with a bang but then missed the bus for various reasons What will happen to Kelvin is a separate story, but coming under such comparison, too quickly at the early stage of his career, will put him under pressure neers He also witnessed a demonstration of the latest imaging from the Mars Rover at the Data Science Institute by Professor Sanjeev Gupta

Professor Mary Ryan, Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial College London expressed that it is good to see India driving the science agenda for sustainable development and is leading an impressive series of engagement through the Science20 group

She further added that they look forward to learning more about the outcomes and to work with their partners in India on the priority areas

WhatsApp could disappear from the UK, Ministers told

M inis ters have been warne d t hat the UK governm ent is r is king s le epwalk ing into a c on f r on t a t io n wi t h WhatsApp t hat could l ead to t he m ess aging app disappearing from Brita in, l eaving out with no opt ions

The online safety bill which is progressing through the House of Lords is more than 250 pages long and the table of contents alone spans 10 pages

It's making took more than four years with eight secretaries of state and five prime ministers involved in its drafting

The bill imparts Ofcom the power to apply requirements for social networks to use technology to tackle terrorism or child sexual abuse content, with fines of up to 10% of global turnover for those services that do not follow the rules

However, for messaging apps that secure their user data with “ end-to-end encryption” (E2EE), it becomes technologically difficult to read user messages without breaking their promises to users

Market leaders WhatsApp and Signal including a coalition of providers wrote in an open letter, “The bill provides no explicit protection for encryption and if implemented as written, could empower Ofcom to try to force the proactive scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services, nullifying the purpose of end-toend encryption as a result and compromising the privacy of all users ”

Mr Mitchell, said, “Greater gender equality brings freedom, boosts prosperity and strengthens global security Countries can ’t develop if half the population are held back from fulfilling their full potential

“This means working in partnership with countries to provide a quality education for all with a focus on girls to address the barriers they face including violence, poverty, harmful gender norms and climate change

“We’re working with partners across Southeast Asia to tackle the learning crisis and improve education and future employment opportunities of women and girls to ensure a prosperous future ”

Around 140 million children in Southeast Asia experienced loss of education due to school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic This is made worse by low quality schooling, learning poverty, limited access to schools in rural areas, education that fails to equip students with workplace skills and girls dropping out of school because of early marriage

In the ASEAN region, girls make up a larger proportion of out of-school children at primary level This limits opportunities in later life and increases the risks of facing early marriage, young pregnancy and poverty

The new UK funding of £30m will address these barriers to education for the 1 2m girls threatened with permanent school drop-out through cost-effective measures such as merit-based scholarships, girls clubs and catch up classes to ensure

The UK also launched a new report with the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel and World Bank on ‘Cost Effective Approaches to Improve Global Learning’, which builds on the importance of early childhood education and provides recommendations covering health, nutrition and socio-emotional development

Have you ever come under such pressure of performance? It might be in your office space, or in areas of personal life It might be a comparison with someone known to you or unknown Boss compares two employees with an intention to improve their performance Parents also compare their children with their classmates But such parity is useless and counterproductive Many people succumb to such comparisons and lose their steam How do you tackle that kind of pressure? It is better to make it clear to whoever is making such comparisons that you are not looking at it from that angle You might have to say that you are unique in your own way and would like to retain that specificity Without losing your cool, better to ward off that kind of pressure The most important aspect is that in your mind also, you should retain your uniqueness Do not juxtapose yourself, ever, with anyone similar to you

'Comparison is the thief of joy' - Theodore Roosevelt (Expressed opinions are personal)

British Indian peer pushes for State visit by King Charles and PM Rishi Sunak

A ver y vocal champion of closer U K-India relations, Lor d Karan Bilimoria, is r e po r t e dl y p us hi n g fo r Pr im e Mi n is t e r R is h i Sunak t o lead a significant business an d trade del egat ion t o India soon

Lord Bilimoria reportedly said: “Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must soon lead a jumbo jet packed delegation to India, which is long overdue

“The last prime ministerial delegation from the UK to India was in 2016, which is quite a gap It would be just the ticket to celebrate the diaspora living bridge and push for-

Lord Karan Bilimoria

ward the relationship ”

During the interaction with Mr Sunak and King Charles III, the subject of visits to India was very much the topic of the hour

The Founder of Cobra Beer and former president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Lord Bilimoria also raised the matter with the King and called for a State Visit by the monarch to India

“We know that the King is a friend of India and has great fondness for the country He said he would love to go to India on a State Visit and that we should plan it soon, ” he said

Meanwhile, Mr Sunak might meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 Summit that is scheduled in Japan later this month

Local pharmacies closing across England

O ver t he la st t wo yea rs, the n um be r of p ha r ma ci e s in Eng la nd ha s fallen by 16 0, a s pe r the BBC a na ly sis According to data from NHS Business Services Authority, there are now 11,026 community chemists, the lowest number since 2015 The reasons being rising operational costs, staff shortages and reduced government financial support

Despite rising patient demand, and plans for pharmacists to provide more ser- vices to ease pressure on GPs, community chemists are closing down

Pharmacists are warning that many more local businesses could close, if not helped Though online services are available, however, many rely on a local chemist for advice and to pick up prescriptions

The government published a primary care access plan on Tuesday, designed to improve and extend availability of consultations by GPs Ministers have also announced £240m ($303m) for practices that will replace old phones with more modern call systems and online tools to make it easier for patients to get in contact Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said every year, there was a shortfall of £1 1bn in funding for independent pharmacies