<div><strong>By Simar Singh</strong><br><br>In the quest to facilitate a multi-sectoral response to prevent, control and manage growing cases of cancer, diabetes, heart and respiratory disorders, mental illness, injuries and other chronic diseases In India, a national blueprint on non-communicable diseases was released by The Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases (PFCD) in New Delhi on Wednesday (28 October).<br> </div><div>Reports stipulate that non-communicable diseases contribute to 53 per cent of the total disease burden in the country. It is also estimated that 60% of the total deaths in India are related to them.<br> </div><div>"An integrated and evidence-based chronic disease management framework for non-communicable diseases is missing in India, and, therefore, the release of the national blueprint -- a one-of-its-kind initiative in this direction -- could be a formative step towards achieving the vision of a healthy India by 2025," said PFCD's chairman Dr. Kenneth Thorpe. </div><div> </div><div>He explained, "India is witnessing a rapid health transition due to changing disease patterns, with NCDs attributing to higher mortality and morbidity rates. Addressing NCDs takes on paramount importance as alarming statistics show that they pose a serious threat to both the social and economic development of the country."</div><div> </div><div>The result geared action plan outlined in the blueprint hopes to bring together central and state governments, private entities and healthcare implementers to adopt the best possible practices and innovative measures to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in India.</div><div> </div><div>Dr Damodar Bachani,Deputy Commissioner (NCD) in the Ministry of Health who was also present at the event said, "This National Blueprint is an attempt to shift the focus from an 'issue-stating' to the 'problem-solving' stage, and bring in a systematic approach to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in the country."</div>
