Because of the additional health initiatives under the National Health Mission, the government has decided to rename the existing program to NP-NCD. The decision was taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to rename the portal, which enables screening for five common NCDs (hypertension, diabetes, oral, breast, and cervical cancers) of the population aged above 30 years, population enumeration, and risk assessment.
The MoHFW decided to rename the National Program for ‘Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Stroke’ to ‘National Program for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases’. The decision was taken because of the addition of other diseases like chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, etc.
The Ministry announced to all the states and union territories that the application or software named Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Non-Communicable Diseases, will now be renamed ‘National NCD Portal’. All the states and union territories are advised to use the above names for the scheme and portal: the Ministry said.
Non-Communicable Diseases
According to a report by World Health Organization NCDs kill 41 million people each year which is equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally. Of all NCD deaths, 77% deceased are from low and middle-income countries. Maximum deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases, followed by cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. Around 80% of premature deaths globally occur due to these diseases.
Unhealthy habits such as; alcohol consumption, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets increase the risk of NCDs. Such diseases are also called chronic diseases, and they could be the result of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioral factors. People of all age groups are affected by NCDs, and nearly 17 million people die from an NCD before the age of 70 each year. 86% of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.
Tobacco accounts for over eight million deaths each year, including from the effects of exposure to secondhand smoke. Excess salt or sodium intake accounts for 1.8 million deaths each year. Also, metabolic risk factors such as; increased blood pressure, high blood glucose levels, high levels of fat in the blood, and obesity contribute a huge part to NCDs. The government is focusing on reducing the risk factors associated with these diseases.
Governments have taken several initiatives to combat NCDs in the countries. But, this is important for all sectors to focus on reducing the risk factors associated with NCDs. World Health Organization’s National NCDs Action Plan focuses on developing multi-sectoral action plans for the prevention and control of NCDs. The organization works with member states to develop monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
The WHO’s Global action plan has been extended to 2030 and accelerating the progress on preventing and controlling NCDs. The roadmap 2023-2030 is focused to achieve a set of global targets which includethe prevention and management of NCDs as well. NCDs are a major part of WHO’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development. WHO plays a key role in fighting against NCDs and providing support for prevention and control.
