)
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, on a visit to Bangladesh for the World Health Organization (WHO) regional committee meeting, said the excessive consumption of alcohol had significant impact on the youth population of India and he planned to learn a strategy to reduce its use.
“The immoderate consumption of alcohol affects the youth population of India greatly. It is one of the four most common modifiable and preventable risk factors for non-communicable diseases. I look forward to learning more about the strategy,” Vardhan said.
Vardhan left for Dhaka on Monday to attend the 67th general meeting of the WHO regional committee, currently chaired by India.
The meeting will also have a session on WHO’s global strategy on alcohol, adopted in 2010 after two years of consultations involving all six regions of WHO.
In its maiden Budget announced this year, the government increased the taxes on cigarette 11-72 per cent.
During his four-day trip, Vardhan will sign a cooperation agreement with Bangladesh on traditional medicine and homoeopathy. This is in line with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s plans to boost the alternative drug sector. While the government is planning to commission a study to gather more information and statistics to give a push to this sector in Indian as well as foreign markets, it is also likely to set up a separate regulator for alternative medicines.
“This is the age of holistic medicines. No single line of treatment is supreme. I intend giving the ancient wisdom in our evidence-based medicine a pride of place in public health, ” Vardhan noted.
The agreement with Bangladesh would cover exchanges of experts, training, mutual recognition of systems, qualification and pharmacopoeias and provide further scope for research collaborations.
Vardhan will also call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and hold bilateral meetings with health ministers of WHO member countries on the sidelines of the conference.
The WHO meet is likely to address other health issues in Southeast Asia. Health ministers are likely to discuss the management of autism spectrum disorder and Kala Azar (Leishmaniasis). An existing agreement on Kala Azar, which currently includes India, Bangladesh and Nepal, would be renewed and expanded to include Bhutan and Thailand.
Discussions will also include the high rate of morbidity and mortality due to malaria, chikungunya, encephalitis, etc, in Southeast Asia.
