MoS Health apprises Parliament about steps taken for prevention, control of Non-communicable Diseases

New Delhi: According to the ICMR study under the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative and its report “India: Health of the Nation's States” published in 2017, the proportion of deaths due to Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) has increased in India from 37.9% in 1990 to 61.8% in 2016, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Shri Prataprao Jadhav informed the Lok Sabha recently.  

The Minister informed this in response to the questions raised by five Parliament members which include Dr Mohammad Jawed, Shri K Sudhakaran, Shri Sukhdeo Bhagat, Dr Amar Singh and Shri Harish Chandra Meena. They sought to know about the total number of deaths that have been caused due to non-communicable diseases in the country, year-wise, the measures that has been taken by the Government to create awareness and reduce the burden of chronic diseases and whether the Government has any plan to provide affordable and robust healthcare services in the country given that the out-of-pocket expenditure on health is still very high and if so, the details thereof?

In response to these questions, MoS Health informed about the number of deaths caused due to non-communicable diseases in the country by presenting the data in the following way: 

To address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), as part of National Health Mission (NHM), based on the proposals received from the States/UTs and subject to the resource envelope, said the Minister. 

Further, he added that the programme focuses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion & awareness generation for prevention, early diagnosis, management and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Under NP-NCD, 753 District NCD Clinics, 220 Cardiac Care Units (CCUs), 356 District Day Care Centres, and 6238 Community Health Center NCD Clinics have been set up. 

A population-based initiative for prevention, control and screening for common NCDs i.e. diabetes, hypertension and common cancers has been rolled out as a part of Comprehensive Primary Health Care in the country under NHM. Screening of these common NCDs is an integral part of service delivery under Ayushman Arogya Mandir (erstwhile Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres). 

"Preventive aspect of Non-Communicable Diseases is strengthened under Comprehensive Primary Health Care through Ayushman Aarogya Mandir Scheme, by promotion of wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level. Other initiatives for increasing public awareness about non-communicable diseases and for promotion of healthy lifestyle includes observation of National and International Days and use of print, electronic and social media for continued community awareness. Furthermore, healthy eating is also promoted through Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Fit India movement is implemented by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and various Yoga related activities are being carried out by Ministry of AYUSH. In addition, NP-NCD gives financial support under NHM for awareness generation (IEC) activities for non-communicable diseases to be undertaken by the States/UTs as per their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs).

Patients with non-communicable diseases including hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are getting treatment at various health facilities in the health care delivery system including District Hospitals, Medical Colleges, Central Institutes like AIIMS and private sector hospitals. The treatment provided in Government Hospitals is either free or subsidized," said the Minister in a written statement. 

Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary or tertiary care hospitalization to over 55 Crores beneficiaries is provided. Financial assistance is provided to poor patients belonging to families living below poverty line, suffering from major life-threatening diseases including cancer under the umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Health Minister's Discretionary Grant (HMDG). Financial assistance upto a maximum of Rs. 1,25,000/- is provided under HMDG to defray a part of the treatment cost and the maximum financial assistance provided under the umbrella scheme of RAN is Rs. 15 lakhs, added the Minister.