“
In my experience over the last
several years in India, an
evidence-based action plan
will help prevent, control and
manage the growing disease
burden, especially focusing on the
escalating NCDs.
health and low prevalence of
insurance coverage are driving a large
number of Indians to poverty as they
have to bear high out-of-pocket
expenses. If the government makes a
policy shift to preventive care, longterm impact of diseases such as
diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
cancer can be checked at the primary
stage of onset by ensuring timely
diagnosis of patients. A patientcentric approach will help the
government create a conducive
environment for patients wherein
medical experts and healthcare
professionals can focus on specific
diseases, thus providing better
facilities and services to patients.
Having worked closely with policy
makers from the Union Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare and the
state health departments, public
health experts and policy analysts,
senior doctors, patient groups, and
pharmaceutical and diagnostic
companies, I think India has an
immediate need to adopt a multisectoral approach to address the
challenges in healthcare. Concerted,
collaborative efforts by the central
and state governments as well as
public-private partnerships can lead
the way in strengthening India’s
healthcare system. In my experience
over the last several years in India, an
evidence-based action plan will help
prevent, control and manage the
growing disease burden, especially
focusing on the escalating NCDs.
India has been one of the early
adopters in developing a policy
framework towards addressing
NCDs. At this crucial juncture for a
developing country like India, it has
immense opportunity to improve the
quality of life for its citizens pave the
way for a healthier future.
How can we control the rising
incidents of non-communicable
disease (NCDs) like diabetes and
heart attacks in India?
There have been detailed
deliberations on the increasing
burden of NCDs. Experts have
repeatedly outlined the need for
India to systematically increase the
current overall expenditure on
health, with a special focus to
increase public spend for NCDs
which account for more 60 per cent
of deaths in the country. - A policy
shift from curative to preventive care
can be the first step to check the
rapidly growing numbers of diabetes
and CVD patients in India - Adopting
‘Healthy Living’ as a social norm in
the present scenario where unhealthy
lifestyle and dietary habits prevail
will help check diseases like diabetes
and heart attack at the primary stage
of onset.
Some recommendations include
introduction of behavioral changes at
workplace. For instance, ban use of
tobacco within office premises,
provide gyms at workplaces or
subsidize memberships at local gyms.
Apert from that defined target for
reduction of salt, sugar and transfat
in mean population intake and devise
an effective monitoring and
surveillance framework. Healthy
lifestyle can by promoted by
introducing necessary shift in social
behavior by encouraging voluntary
exercise or yoga across all
educational institutions.
What are the various initiatives
that PFCD is spearheading in
India? Have there been any
partnerships with various
government agencies or other
organizations?
We have been working in India to act
as a catalyst to bring together all the
relevant stakeholders in order to find
sustainable solutions and advocating
the need for a holistic approach to
address the growing disease burden.
PFCD’s objective is to draw the
attention of relevant stakeholders
towards developing an innovative
policy framework to effectively
address and manage NCDs. We
hosted four multi-stakeholder
discussions in Ahmedabad, Chennai,
New Delhi and Mumbai in 2014. The
events saw participation from toplevel officials from the Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW)
and the states. We have seen
increasing participation and
engagement from public health
experts and policy analysts, senior
doctors, patient groups, and
pharmaceutical and diagnostic
companies as well.
A separate multi-stakeholder
discussion on healthcare financing
was also hosted in New Delhi in April
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