The Education Ministry will fund assistance for diabetic children in after-school daycare beginning this coming academic year. 

The announcement was made after the High Court approved a petition filed by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Nathan Meir Law & CO as part of ongoing attempts to improve the lives of diabetics in Israel.

There are currently approximately 850 children between the ages of three and ten with Type-1 Diabetes in the education system. The disease is a chronic condition in which the pancreas does not create enough insulin, which is used to convert sugar into energy.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, diagnosis of many non-COVID diseases have been decreasing, among them diabetes. This is not due to less people suffering from diabetes, but because less people are getting tested.

In fact, coronavirus has been shown to make the risk of diabetes higher. The virus attacks pancreas cells, harming the process of creating insulin, which can lead to Type-1 Diabetes

The Education Ministry provides assistance for diabetic children in schools, but so far these children have not been able to take part in after-school programs. This means that parents have had to either pay for a caregiver themselves or leave work early in order to take care of their child at home. This funding will mean that parents can have their diabetic kid taken care of for the full work day without having added expenses.

Diabetic children require someone with them at all times to help them check their sugar levels and take insulin shots when needed. The approval of this petition will supply them with the care they need.

This is a victory for the JDRF and the families of diabetic children who have spent years fighting for an end to discrimination against such children.