We should not become ‘unhealthy’ nation: Venkaiah Naidu

Mysuru: “Though the country has achieved great progress and made advances in modern medicine, it still faces a shortage of qualified medical practitioners. It is estimated that the country faces a shortage of six lakh doctors and 20 lakh nurses. The National Health Profile 2018 says there is just one allopathic government for 11,082 people, while WHO recommends 1:10,” said Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, delivering the tenth convocation address at the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, in Mysuru on Saturday.

“There are around 71,000 MBBS seats in over 500 medical colleges, but we have only 32,000 postgraduate seats. I hope the newly constituted National Medical Commission (NMC) will provide for a medical education system that is inclusive and affordable, and ensures availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals,” he said.

“A study by IIM, Ahmedabad found that many C-section deliveries are unnecessary and are driven mainy by financial motives. It is also observed that quite often unnecessary tests and expensive medicines are prescribed putting pressure on the poor patient. This is unethical. In the wake of technological advancements in the medical field there is gradual erosion of human touch or human element in doctor-patient relationship. Medical courses should also include subjects like bio-ethics, humanities and communication skills,” he said.

“India is witnessing a troubling transition, from communicable diseases to non-communicable, lifestyle diseases (NCDs). A WHO report attributes nearly 61 percent of deaths in India to non-communicable diseases. Studies show that the contribution of cardiovascular diseases to mortality increased by 34.3 percent from 1990 to 2016. During the same period, the age standardized diabetes prevalence rose by 29.7 percent in India. Also, we need to keep in mind that this data was largely based on self reporting by people. A Lancet study finds the NCDs are typically present in individuals aged 55 years or older in many developed countries, but their onset occurs in India a decade earlier at the age of about 45 years. This is mainly because of genetic predisposition, changing lifestyle and factors like pollution. Eating unhealthy food and leading a sedentary lifestyle were contributing to increase in NCDs. To counter this, we must adopt a healthy lifestyle and good dietary habits. A nation with unhealthy population cannot progress,” he said.

“With successive governments according high priority to health and wellbeing of the people, the average life expectancy has increased to 69 years and India’s disease burden due to communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases has dropped from 61 percent to 33 percent between 1990 and 2016. I hope that Ayushman Bharat will address the issue of people getting pushed into the vicious cycle of debts due to out of pocket expenses and high treatment costs," he said.

JSS math seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamy ji, Mysuru district minister Mr V. Somanna and others were present.