Non Communicable Disease

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Facts:
  • Non-Communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and stroke, Diabetes, Chronic Respiratory Diseases (Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases) and Cancer account for over 60% of all mortality in India, of these, nearly 55% are premature mortality.
  • According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), India stands to lose $ 4.58 trillion (Rs 311.94 trillion) due to non-communicable diseases between 2012 and 2030.
  • India stands next only to China in the prevalence of diabetes
  • India contributes nearly one-sixth to the global diabetes burden of 422 million
  • NCD cause over 53% of all deaths in India.
  •  India State-level Disease Burden Report:
    • Indians have registered a 50% increase in the prevalence of ischemic heart disease and stroke over the period from 1990 to 2016, with the number of diabetes cases climbing from 26 million to 65 million.
    • In the same period, the number of people ailing from chronic obstructive lung disease went up from 28 million to 55 million.
What are NCDs?
NCDs are mostly those disease which are related to stress, ignorance of healthy diet and proper habits. NCDs are estimated to account for a chilling 60 per cent of all deaths in India, making them the leading cause of death ahead of other reasons.
Effects on India’s population and economy:
  1. Rise of deaths during productive years (30-70 years)
  2. Loss of demographic dividend
  3. NCDs can become bigger problem than malnourishment.
  4. Health spending in households increases, which later decreases saving, resulting in rise of poverty
Steps Taken by government:
India developed a multi-sector NCD action plan to reduce the number of global premature deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025. Initiative:
  • Strengthening health care system:
    • Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat scheme: The government would invest around Rs 64,000 crore in rural and urban health and wellness Centers [HWC] as part of this programme.
    • Around 1,20,000 PHCs being converted into HWCs to provide primary care for NCD.
  • Providing financial protection:
    • PM’s health insurance scheme:
      • The initiative covers 100 million of the most vulnerable population.
      • It reduces out-of-pocket expenditures on health by expanding the scope of primary healthcare to include screening and diagnosis of NCD like CVD, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases.
  • To address household air pollution:
    • PM Ujjwala Yojana: The use of LPG instead of polluting wood in 90 million households has reduced the risk of the chronic lung diseases and cancer that women were exposed to.
Measures needed from Government:
  1. Increase health expenditure up to 8% of GDP.
  2. Provided basic health facilities to all section of people in viable costs
  3. Increase rural health infrastructure
  4. Built upon a robust early screening system
Measures needed from Non-Government entities:
  1. Business house should create policy of health working conditions
  2. Create awareness about stress related disorders in their offices
  3. NGOs must campaign for healthy working conditions in all sectors of employment
Measures needed from People:
  1. Eat Healthy diet
  2. Don’t become prone to addictions
  3. Remain fit by any of means viz. Yoga, Meditation, Exercise, etc.
  4. Share your problems and tensions with family and friends to keep depression away.
Measures needed from Doctors and Researchers:
  1. Robust mechanisms for data collection, data sharing, and knowledge transfer
  2. Systems for monitoring and evaluation
  3. Share knowledge in all sectors of community
Way Forward:
Achieving the SDG target by reducing one-third of premature mortalities due to NCD will make India more resilient to future viral pandemics. Thus, India must strengthen its health infrastructure through the Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat programme.
Related questions:
  • India, along with most other nations, has fallen victim to a lethal modern day scourge —non communicable diseases (NCDs). Critically discuss their effect on the population and economy and measures needed to prevent them. (200 Words)
  • “Every investment in combating non-communicable diseases is a means of promoting development.” Elaborate the statements and discuss the threats of non-communicable diseases to economy and measures needed to be taken to address these threats. (200 Words)

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