Chennai:
The rise in non-communicable diseases among India’s younger
population will impinge the economic progress of the country and there is a
need to create awareness to tackle the pandemic, according to a health expert.
Delivering the convocation address on the silver jubilee
year of The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University’s 23rd convocation
here on Wednesday, chairman of Apollo Hospitals Dr Prathap C Reddy said
non-communicable diseases account for two-third of deaths in India as India has
the privilege of holding ‘gold medals’ in diabetes, cancer and heart.
He said heart diseases has transformed as a major killer
impacting the lives of young Indians and hospitals are coming across cases where
30-40 year old are reaching hospitals with an acute heart attack.
He said India, which faces far greater risk of heart disease
than other countries, does not have adequate training or infrastructure to
tackle it.
“We are four times more likely to have a heart attack than
our Western counterparts,” he said.
He said the nation has three challenges which include acute
demand-supply gap of hospital beds, severe shortage of health human resources
and the new threat of non-communicable diseases.
Urging the government to give a stimulus to health, he said
the required bed-to-population ratio is established at one bed per 300
individuals or approximately 30 beds per 10,000 individuals. In order to attain
the global benchmark India will require an investment of Rs 6.4 trillion.
He also stressed the need to increase health human resources
by doubling doctors from 0.7 million to 1.5 million besides tripling the nurses
from 0.8 million to 2.5 million and paramedics from 2.5 million to 10 million.
Earlier, speaking after Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah
declared the convocation open, vice-chancellor of Dr MGR Medical University
Dr Mayilvahanan Natarajan said that 5215 students are
conferred their degrees, of which 2,298 undergraduates and postgraduates
students will be confreerd with their degree in person today. He said five
candidates are also conferred with Phd and one with D.Sc research degrees.
Health minister and pro-chancellor of the university V S
Vijay highlighted the many schemes of the government to help needy.
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