Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu Sunday said India was now witnessing a troubling epidemiological transition from Communicable Diseases to Non-Communicable, lifestyle diseases (NCDs) and stressed the need to establish NCD clinics both in urban and rural areas.
Addressing a Global Health Summit, organised by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) here, Naidu said a national movement against the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases needs to be launched.
The Vice-President, quoting the ICMR India State-Level Disease Burden Study report-"India: Health of the Nation's States", said the estimated proportion of all deaths due to NCDs has increased from 37.09 per cent in 1990 to 61.8 per cent in 2016.
"I feel that there is a need to establish NCD clinics both in urban and rural areas and the private sector must play a prominent role in setting up such clinics," he was quoted as saying in a press release.
"We must organise massive awareness drives to sensitise people to practices that can be adopted for disease prevention. We must move away from a treatment approach to a wellness-based approach," Naidu said.
India is now facing a huge challenge in the form of rising Antibiotic Resistance and doctors from India working abroad can share their experience with Indian counterparts and Indian Medical Association for devising an effective strategy to combat Antibiotic resistance, he said.
Naidu also urged them to promote Yoga in their country of residence, not only to strengthen India's soft power but also to promote health and wellness for all.