India to accord high priority to prevention of non communicable diseases
March 16th, 2011 - 7:57 pm ICT by ANINew Delhi, Mar 16 (ANI): Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that India has decided to accord high priority to the prevention and control of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
Inaugurating the World Health Organization’s Delhi based meeting - ‘Partners for Health in South - East Asia’, Azad said: “There is now a growing realisation that the scourge of Non Communicable Diseases is on an ever increasing spiral.”
He further informed that a three pronged strategy has been considered to create awareness about these diseases; rapidly upscale infrastructure and human resource and drive down costs to make the treatment more affordable.
“The sheer challenge of reducing mortality on account of Non Communicable Diseases and enhancing quality of life of our people makes this a risk worth taking’,” he said.
He said that a revamped and synergised ‘National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, CVD & Stroke’ is being implemented in 100 Districts across 21 States during the 11th Plan period.
“Eventually it will be extended over all the 640 districts in the country,” he added.
Azad also stated that India has made impressive gains vis-a vis the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) VI.
“We have also been able to avert more than two million deaths on account of TB with the scaling up of DOTS programme throughout the country,” he said.
Against the MDG target of mortality reduction by 50 per cent by 2015, Azad said: “We have already achieved a 68 per cent reduction.
The Minister also informed that nearly Rs 10,000 crores will be spent in the next 2-3 years to establish six state-of- art tertiary care institutions modelled on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the under-developed and under-served regions of the country.
He also noted that we have to work in unison to aggressively produce good quality and low cost diagnostics, vaccines and drugs.
“Good quality low cost generic medicines hold the key to improved health care”, he underscored. (ANI)
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