Year: 2003
Type: preprint
Abstract: This paper formed part of a series of background papers prepared for the ICRIER India Health Study, "Changing the Indian Health System: Current Issues, Future Directions" by Rajiv L. Misra, Rachel Chatterjee, and Sujatha Rao.The India Health Study, prepared under the team leadership of Rajiv Misra, former Health Secretary, Government of India, was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.Among the major health transitions witnessed in the second half of the twentieth century, the most globally pervasive change has been the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).This has given rise to new challenges of providing acute and chronic care for NCDs, especially in poor countries such as India with an already existing mismatch between health care needs and resources.This paper examines the socio-economic impact and burden of NCDs and discusses various strategies for the prevention and control of such diseases in India.It recommends that existing health systems will need to be reorganized and reoriented to include the prevention, surveillance, and management of NCDs.The paper also recommends that evidence based clinical practice and appropriate use of technologies should be promoted at all levels of health care, including tertiary services.The prevention and control of NCDs poses a major public health challenge for the country in the twenty-first century.I am very pleased that ICRIER has had the opportunity to participate in the debate in this area.This contribution by K. Srinath Reddy will help significantly in providing a better focus to the problems and solutions at hand.
Author: K. Srinath Reddy
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1589325327