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Causes of 50 pc deaths in country
KATHMANDU, AUG 14 -
The fact that chronic ailments such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory complications cause about 50 percent deaths in Nepal has not convinced policymakers to devise a specific plan to mitigate the effect, doctors say.
Speaking at a seminar on non-communicable disease prevention and control in Lalitpur on Saturday, the health professionals urged the government to draw up a policy of paying the same degree of urgency to non-communicable diseases as it does to communicable ones.
Presenting a paper on the state of non-communicable diseases in the country, Dr. Prakash Raj Regmi said the number of people suffering from non-communicable diseases has drastically increased of late. “The government should devise a policy on such diseases first. Programmes and plans will automatically follow,” he added.
According to a study carried out by the Ministry of Health and Population, 49 percent of deaths in Nepal are caused by non-communicable diseases. Communicable diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis are among other notable killers.
The study reveals 21.5 percent of deaths are caused by high blood pressure while the shares of diabetes, obesity, tobacco and alcohol are 10, 7.2, 23.5 and 28.5 percent, respectively. The study has not ascertained the number of deaths caused by heart attack, haemorrhage, cancer and asthma.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief of Health Sector Reform Unit at the Ministry of Health and Population Dr. Babu Ram Marasini said the government was working out plans and policies regarding non-communicable diseases. The ministry has conducted a couple of national and regional surveys on the state of non-communicable diseases, he informed.
With cases of non-communicable diseases increasing worldwide, the United Nations has scheduled an international seminar among the heads of states on non-communicable diseases for September next year.
An estimated 35 million people die of non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, haemorrhage, diabetes, cancer and asthma globally every year.
Posted on: 2010-08-15 07:51
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