The Central Government of India has released operational guidelines for managing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. These guidelines, launched under the National Health Mission, aim to address common NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and more. The government also released a roadmap to scale up hypertension and diabetes services in primary healthcare. With NCDs causing a significant number of deaths globally, these initiatives underscore the government’s commitment to combating the burden of NCDs and improving healthcare services in India.
The Central Government of India took a significant step on Wednesday by releasing operational guidelines for the management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. This development coincided with World Hypertension Day and was part of a joint event organized in collaboration with the G20.
Implemented under the National Health Mission (NHM), these guidelines aim to address prevalent NCDs such as Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs), hypertension, diabetes, cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, chronic kidney diseases, and more. The government highlighted that population-based screening (PBS) for common NCDs is currently being conducted through the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres.
The recommendations were shared with the states and union territories for efficient implementation to improve healthcare services for NCDs at all levels of care and establish a continuum-of-care approach. The Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary of Health, the Mission Director of NHM, and the Directors of Health Services in the relevant states and union territories are key individuals who bear responsibility.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NCDs account for a staggering 41 million deaths annually, comprising 74% of all global deaths. In the case of India, the WHO-NCD India profile of 2018 revealed that NCDs contribute to approximately 63% of all deaths. Cardiovascular diseases account for 27% of all deaths, followed by cancer (9%), diabetes (3%), chronic respiratory diseases (11%), and other NCDs (13%).
In addition to the operational guidelines, the government also unveiled a ‘Roadmap to scale up hypertension and diabetes services in primary healthcare.’ This roadmap aims to address the growing burden of hypertension and diabetes in India by focusing on strengthening services at the primary healthcare level.
