New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) Terming Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as "silent killers" which are rising gradually and affecting the country's productivity, experts from the field Friday said that an effective public-private partnership can tackle the problem.
"NCDs are silent killers and have become a global health emergency. Eight out of 10 Indians are suffering from NCDs in urban areas and six out of 10 in rural areas," Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Abu Hasem Khan Choudhary said.
The minister was speaking at the two-day 'National NCD Summit-Strengthening Policies for Diabetes Care' which began here Friday. The summit aims to strengthen the ongoing efforts of the government in managing the increasing burden of NCDs.
"The government can provide funds but private companies too have to play an active role in helping curb the rising number of NCD patients in the country," said Jagdish Prasad, director of the ministry's general health services.
"Apart from making medicines for such patients, the corporates should spend 10 percent of their income on educating people on how to prevent themselves," he added.
NCDs are not only a health problem but a development problem as well because they affect the productive years of a rising number of population in the age group of 36 to 50 years, said Prasad.
The summit is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company, health and family welfare ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
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