The Uttarakhand medical health and family welfare department is planning to start 42 clinics in the State to combat non-communicable diseases.
The programme would be launched under the aegis of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke (NPCDCS) of government of India.
In the first phase these clinics would start in the district hospitals of Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar,, Pithoragarh and Almora . later 35 clinics in Community Health Centers (CHC) in other parts of the state would also be opened. The seven districts chosen for the project have reported high incidences of hypertension, diabetes and cancer. The heath experts are of the view that there is an urgent need to take immediate action against non-communicable diseases on high priority before it is too late. The non communicable diseases take a very high toll on the population and they also are cause of many associated diseases also. The World Heath Organization acknowledges these diseases as one of a major threat to the population. It foresees that these diseases would account for mortality of about 44 million people worldwide by the year 2020.
The NPCDCS is project under the 12 five year plan of the central government. It is learnt that the state health department has listed 40000 patients of hypertension and diabetes in Uttarakhand. The plan of the department is also make these clinics a data collection centre for non communicable diseases. However it would be interesting to note how the health department of Uttarakhand reeling under acute shortage of medical officers takes up the project of NPCDCS.