Best global practises adopted in action plan for NCDs: Govt

The government's action plan to deal with non-communicable diseases, which have emerged as key health challenge, has been drawn from the best global practices and efforts are on to bring different stakeholders on one platform to execute it, Health Secretary Lov Verma said today.
At a discussion here on 'Facing Our Future: Countering Non-Communicable Diseases in India Through Investments in Innovation', Verma said government's National Multi-Sectoral Action Plan recognises the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on the country.
"We have studied the best practiced strategies globally before finalising the action plan. Efforts are on to define the role of various stakeholders at national and sub-national levels...And bring them on one platform," he said, according to a statement issued by 'Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases', which organised the event.

PFCD Chairman Kenneth E Thorpe, said non-communicable illnesses and diabetes, cancer, vascular diseases, hypertension and stroke are on the rise in the country.
"If projections are true, then 100 million people in India will suffer from Type 2 diabetes alone by the year 2040. This will severely undermine plans for a more productive citizenry and will also devastate the nation's finances because of the resources it will take to care for the growing numbers of ill citizens," he said.
Experts participating in the event advocated the need to strengthen national monitoring and surveillance, scaling up the implementation of evidence-based measures to reduce risk factors like tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use and improving access to cost-effective healthcare interventions, it said.