Treatment alone is not enough for families of children with diabetes or metabolic diseases; they also need support and guidance to help them regain their balance, Mirabela Gradinaru, the partner of President Nicusor Dan, said on Tuesday.

She attended the launch of a fundraising campaign to build Romania's first Integrated University Clinic for Paediatric Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, a project developed in partnership with CF2 Clinical Hospital and the 'Carol Davila' University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

'As a mother, as a parent, I know that nothing prepares us for the moment when we find out that our own child is ill or suffering from a disease. And at such moments, many questions and fears arise, along with the need to find people who can guide you, people who can restore your confidence that you will be able to move forward. That is why I believe that when we talk about diabetes and metabolic diseases, we are not talking only about a diagnosis; we are talking about children, children who want to play, learn and enjoy their childhood. We are talking about families who try every day to find or regain their balance. And for these families, treatment alone is not enough, as I believe has already been mentioned. They also need support, guidance and people they can trust,' Gradinaru stressed.

In her view, the new clinic is not just another medical facility: 'it is an opportunity for every child and their family to find, in one place, expertise, support and answers, and to be able to move forward and find the people who can guide and support them'.

Mirabela Gradinaru said that no family should have to go through such an ordeal alone.

'I believe this clinic offers children the opportunity to receive not only the highest quality treatment, but also the care and support they and their families need, because every child deserves to live a healthy life, to dream and to enjoy their childhood,' she added.

Doctor Anca Pantea Stoian said that the new clinic addresses a genuine need for an integrated response to children's health problems and represents 'a medical challenge that aims to offer more than treatment and ensure the transition from childhood to adulthood'.

She explained that the development of a modern Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases department is centred on the needs of people with diabetes. The facility, covering more than 800 square metres, will house a centre offering day hospitalisation, integrated outpatient services, nutritional education and psychological counselling.

Speaking at the campaign launch conference, Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete said that more than 4,000 children across Romania have type 1 diabetes.

Save the Children Romania President Gabriela Alexandrescu said that the construction of the medical facility is estimated to cost 1.5 million euros, of which 500,000 euros has been raised so far.

Save the Children Romania is also running an SMS fundraising campaign for the project. Those wishing to make a recurring monthly donation of 5 euros can send the text message 'Salvez' to 8835. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)