HYDERABAD: AT the 13th edition of the Global Healthcare Summit organised by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO) in Hyderabad on July 21, Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu, emphasised on the need for public-private partnership to tackle the rising number of deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCD) that have risen from 37.09 per cent in 1990 to 61.8 per cent in 2016.
He also urged doctors belonging to the Indian diaspora to give back to the society by adopting their native villages and strengthening Primary Health Centres (PHCs).
Calling for a national movement against NCDs, citing the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases which accounted for 61.08 per cent of all deaths in the country in 2016, Naidu asked the medical fraternity to adopt the concept of ‘Medical Social Responsibility’ on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
“India is now witnessing a troubling epidemiological transition, from communicable diseases to NCDs. According to ICMR India State-level Disease Burden Study report, titled ‘India: Health of the Nation’s States’, 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. What is more worrisome is that a large proportion of those suffering from these diseases are young people,” said Naidu.