Health ministry to set up health camps at Delhi trade fair

Driven by a single-fold objective of creating more awareness about non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the health ministry has taken a decision to set up health camps at the high footfall site of the annual trade fair in Pragati Maidan in Delhi.

Concerned for the recent spurt in cases on NCDs, the government is hopeful of attracting more people with special arrangement being done at the premise. Entertainment capsules such as facebook desks and selfie contests will be organised to get people hooked onto the first-of-its-kind camp.

Elaborating on the facebook campaign, Asian Age has reported that an initiative has been taken to photograph the visitors at the camp with messages on NDs like “Let cancer be only a zodiac sign” and “Say no to tobacco” etc.

This initiative will help in creating local ambassadors for the cause, with all these pictures to be posted on the visitor’s facebook page, further propagating the cause. Other social media tools like twitter and live-streaming of videos will also be a part of the health camp initiative.

To further add significance to the cause which causes 60 per cent of fatalities in India, many celebrities like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and political leaders are also being invited to participate and interact with people.

“The trade fair attracts a large footfall. This makes it an ideal location to carry out awareness and screening campaigns on NCDs,” said Anshu Prakash, joint secretary in the health ministry. It is expected that more than 55,000 visitors shall be screened for common NCDs during the fair. There will be doctors and counsellors from different streams, including Ayush and yoga, to provide a holistic approach, as reported by The Asian Age.

While 26 per cent of the deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), 7 per cent due to cancer, 2 per cent due to diabetes, 13 per cent due to chronic respiratory diseases, 12 per cent due to injuries and 12 per cent due to other problems etc.

“Different crowd-pulling techniques like reward programmes, quizzes, nukkad nataks and flash mobs to engage with visitors for effective communication will also take place,” added Mr Prakash.