Health minister Nadda announces measures to tackle non-communicable diseases

New Delhi: Union health minister J.P. Nadda on Wednesday announced a number of measures to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.

He launched an M-Diabetes initiative which harnesses the power of the mobile telephony network. With a missed call to 011-22901701 a caller can get information on diabetes and how to prevent and manage it. He can also log on to www.mdiabetes.nhp.gov.in for more information.

Nadda released training guidelines for staff in primary health centres. The guidelines are meant to teach health workers how to create awareness about NCDs and help the rural populace deal with them.

“Prevention of disease will always remain in the forefront, whether for communicable or non-communicable diseases, and awareness regarding a balanced lifestyle and healthy living is a crucial pillar in combating non-communicable diseases”, Nadda said at the inauguration of the “National Conference on Prevention and Control of Major Non-communicable Diseases in India”.

Emphasizing on the need to create awareness among people regarding healthy living, the minister also launched a media campaign on NCDs.

After a gap of six years, a survey on tobacco consumption among adults is to be started for which the minister released a questionnaire on Wednesday.

The second round of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2) is meant for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use and tracking key tobacco control indicators. About 76,000 non-institutionalised males and females aged 15 years and above, from about 2,500 selected geographical units across 30 states and 2 Union territories will be interviewed.

Nadda also inaugurated the Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research (CIMR) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. It is aimed at creating convergence of contemporary medicine with India’s ancient and traditional medical practices. Experts from various disciplines of contemporary medicine will collaborate with yoga and ayurveda specialists for preventive healthcare as well as treatment.