‘Uday’ – an initiative to fight
non-communicable diseases launched
A
five-year programme to fight the rising burden of non-communicable diseases
(NCDs) in India with an initial focus on improving outcomes for people with
diabetes and high blood pressure was launched here Thursday. The Public Health
Foundation of India (PHFI) with pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly’s launched
‘Uday’ — a $30-million global initiative to tackle NCDs.
In
the first phase, the project will be implemented in Vizag (Andhra Pradesh) and
Sonepat (Haryana) to strengthen diabetes and high blood pressure care
capabilities in terms of prevention, detection and effective management. Based
on the unique research, report and advocate framework, the programme aims to
demonstrate cost-effective scalable approaches for effective diabetes and high
blood pressure management.
‘Diabetes
and its complications represent a rapidly expanding public health concern that
is expected to affect 552 million people by 2030 with devastating health and
economic consequences,’ said K. Srinath Reddy, president, PHFI. ‘Through this
approach, the programme will focus on sharing results with key stakeholders,
including government and the global health community to encourage adoption of
the best solutions,’ he said.
The
primary partners for ‘Uday’ in India are PHFI, Population Services International
(PSI) and Project HOPE. Commenting on the launch, Melt Van Der Spuy, managing
director, Eli Lilly and Company India, said: ‘Non-communicable diseases are a
major health challenge for India and there is a pressing need to address its
rising burden. The programme support identification of innovative solutions to
contribute to this fight against diabetes in India.’
Chronic
diseases disproportionately affect the economically disadvantaged, with 80
percent of all NCD deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. NCDs
are a major contributor to poverty and a barrier to social and economic
development.
India
is home to over 61 million diabetic patients — an increase from 50.8 million
last year. By 2030, India’s diabetes burden is expected to cross the
100-million mark as against 87 million earlier estimated. India’s diabetes
burden is second to China, which has 90 million people with diabetes (2011)
that will increase to about 130 million by 2030.
Source: http://health.india.com 14.12.2012
Private medical colleges to hold own
entrance tests: Disaster on the cards?
The
Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the private medical colleges to hold their
own entrance test for admission to post-graduate courses for the 2013-14
academic year but restrained them from declaring the results. The interim order
was given by a bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, Justice S.S. Nijjar and
Justice J. Chelameswar.
The
private medical colleges from across the country had challenged the National
Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to post-graduate courses for
the year 2013-14. The apex court Oct 12 transferred to itself 23 cases from
various high courts, including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, where the NEET
has been challenged. According to the Medical Council of India’s regulations,
all medical colleges’ seats for post-graduate courses would be allotted from
the national list and the state wise merit lists prepared by the apex medical
council. Besides this, the regulation provided that 50 percent of all the
post-graduate courses seats would be filled by the candidates selected by their
state governments. The court directed the listing of the matter Jan 15, 2013.
India.com
Health View
This
seems like a very bad decision considering the falling standards of medical
education from private colleges. A recent study conducted by the World Bank
found that certified MBBS
doctors were as likely to commit mistakes as quacks without a
degree, raising serious questions about the quality of our medical education.
Allowing them to hold their own entrance exams could be catastrophic because it
would decrease accountability and could lead to meritorious students missing
out. In the long run, such a scenario could create a huge deficit of quality
healthcare practitioners in the country.
Source: http://health.india.com
14.12.2012
Coffee drinkers less likely to get
mouth cancer!
Drinking
four cups of coffee daily slashes deadly mouth cancer risk by 50 percent
because of its protective effects, regardless of people drinking or smoking,
according to a British media report. Researchers from the American Cancer
Society, Atlanta, said the effect may not be due to caffeine but hundreds of
other natural antioxidants found in the beverage. The association held true regardless
of how often the person drank alcohol or smoked.
The
results validate a previous study two years ago by a another set of
researchers, who claimed that four cups daily lowered cancer risk by 39
percent, American Journal of Epidemiology reports. British consumers guzzle
their way through an estimated 70 million cups of coffee a day. The popular
drink has already been linked with reducing the chances of getting bowel
cancer, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Daily Mail.However,
drinking too much may increase heart rate and blood pressure and pregnant women
are advised to limit their intake because of concerns that excess coffee may
increase their chances of having small babies.
More
than 6,000 people a year in Britain are diagnosed with mouth cancer and the
disease kills around 1,600 people annually.
Source: http://health.india.com
14.12.2012
In
order to win, you must expect to win
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