Re-energizing the NCD Community towards commitment and collaboration
Hyderabad, 16th November 2017: In the wake of stubbornly increasing burden of NCDs in India, Project HOPE and Eli Lilly and Company (Pvt. Ltd. India) in support from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Telangana, organized a Regional NCD Consultation on “Addressing NCD Program Implementation Challenges: How do we get there?” in Hyderabad, Telangana. The event focused prioritizing recommendations for improved actions to combat NCDs challenges. These recommendations, included in a book of proceedings at the end. This consultation is a part of a series of consultations that is being held in the different regions of the country, the first was held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on 27th October 2017.
NCDs account for 61% of deaths in India each year (Global Burden of Diseases Report, 2016). The Non-Communicable Diseases constitute a major public health challenge, impacting both the social and economic development of India with substantial human costs. The purpose of the regional consultation was to bring together representatives from Government, national and international non-governmental organizations, civil societies, policy and program implementers, and private sector; to exchange and share their experiences and ideas about addressing operational challenges in implementing NCD programs. The consultation called on the Central and State Governments, along with other partners, to take this agenda for NCD action forward. These areas of action are essential to enable accelerated movement in India’s growing NCD challenges.
Dr. Padmavati, Additional Director at National Health Mission, Telangana shared the idea of coming together to overcome the growing hidden burden of NCD cases in the region.
“Through the application of innovative and globally recognized best practices; and through dedication, and the wisdom of regional and local healthcare professionals and healthcare workers; we are committed to reduce the rate of NCDs.” Chris Skopec, Executive Vice President, Project HOPE Global.
“By mobilizing the power in partnership, building skills of health care workers, increasing access to resources to deliver at scale, and improving monitoring; the seemingly impossible task of tackling the growing burden of NCDs in the country can be achieved.” Dr. Laxmikant Palo, Regional Director for South-East Asia at Project HOPE.
The consultation observed a group of over 60 participants from the host and neighboring State Health Department, national level government representatives, INGOs, NGO and private sector.
Some keynote speakers included Dr, Rakesh Sahay, professor Endocrinology, Osmana Medical College; Dr. Vijay Shekar Reddy, Professor of Endocrinology, Gandhi Medical Hospital; Dr. Devika Rani, Director ESI, Hyderabad; Mr. Inderpal Singh, Associate Director Access, Eli-Lilly and Company; Mr. Hitesh Sahani, Global Health Program Leader, Eli Lilly and Company; and Dr. Lalitha Kumari, Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, State of Telangana.
“The regional consultations with the involvement of the state officials, will help to achieve enhanced program management at the country level. We at Eli Lilly and Company are committed to the cause through the Lilly Global Health Partnership in India.”, Edgard Olaizola, Managing Director Eli Lilly India Subcontinent at Eli Lilly and Company.
Some of the key recommendations that the participants came up with to better address NCD challenges were:
- Public-Private Partnership to address the NCD Challenges
- Increased inter and intra departmental convergent actions
- Capacity building across the health functionaries on technical and administrative aspects of NCDs
- Increase community awareness and engagement ensuring early screening and referral to reduce the burden of NCDs
- Advocacy for increased political attention and financial allocation
There is the universal concern, across diverse stakeholders, about the current and future consequences of NCDs in India. This is one of its kind participatory event in NCDs being held in the country, addressing the core implementation challenges and calling for action for the implementers to convert challenge into achievement.
About Project HOPE
Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) was founded in 1958 as The People-to- People Health Foundation with a mission to achieve sustainable advances in health and health care around the world in areas of need. For more than 50 years, we have worked in about 120 countries to build the skills of health care providers, strengthen management capacity, and support sustainable systems to improve access to quality health services. Project HOPE exists to solve some of the world’s greatest public health challenges, by equipping local health care workers with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to have a lasting impact in people’s lives. Please visit www.projecthope.org
About Eli-Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com