British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will present 'Amitabh', a module diabetes unit-bus to be based in Mumbai, to Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in London on Monday.The bus will help screen people in Mumbai for diabetes and has been donated by diabetes prevention charity organisation 'Silver Star' funded by Indian-origin Labour MP, Keith Vaz.Brown will present the bus to Big B on behalf of Silver Star at a dinner on Monday.
The bus has been named 'Amitabh' in honour of the 67-year-old Bollywood star and will bring hope of diabetes diagnosis to thousands of Indians.
Silver Star, founded by Vaz in 2007, carries out free diabetes testing and promotes culturally sensitive healthcare, focusing particularly on the high prevalence of diabetes amongst the South Asian community in Britain and Internationally.Since 2007, Silver Star has tested 4695 people in Britain.There are two such mobile units in the UK.
'Amitabh' will be the second Silver Star Mobile Diabetes Unit in India. Last year Bachchan launch the first mobile unit in Goa, which has so far tested 2075 people.
Vaz, Britain's longest serving MP of Asian origin and represents Leicester East which boasts UK's largest South Asian population outside of London, said: "I am absolutely delighted that the Prime Minister will be presenting Bachchan with the second Mobile Diabetes Unit for India, especially because it will be a life saving service for the people of Mumbai."...Seven million people in the UK have diabetes and have not been diagnosed and over 50 million people in India are diabetic," he said.
