Daily Times

LAHORE: The Punjab Public Health Agency (PPHA) has launched its Policy Roundtable Series with first dialogue on Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) across the province on Saturday.

The roundtable was attended by eminent public health professionals and sector experts from both public and private sector. Professor John Chambers, a cardiovascular epidemiologist from Imperial College London, was present at the roundtable to share his expertise on international best practices in NCD management and challenges faced globally.

NCDs are a growing cause of concern globally. According to the World Health Organisation, NCDs are estimated to kill approximately 40 million people each year globally, accounting for nearly 70 percent of all deaths. Pakistan, facing a double burden of disease, is ranked seventh in the world for diabetes prevalence.

WHO reports high smoking levels in Pakistan, with 31.8 percent men and 5.8 percent women currently using tobacco in any form. It coupled with unhealthy diet options results in one in four adults over the age of 18 being hypertensive and 40 percent of the population over the age of 40 suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Realising these challenges, the Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department (PSHD) launched the Prevention & Control of NCD Programme in 2016, with the goal to reduce the burden of morbidity, mortality and premature mortality related to NCDs.

PPHA Chief Executive Officer Dr Shabnam Sarfraz elaborated on the importance of a collective discussion space where academicians and public health professionals can interact with seasoned subject matter experts on health and related matters. She highlighted that Punjab is the first province to have established a Provincial NCD Unit and allocated dedicated funds for prevention and control of NCDs in the province.

PPHA is working with the NCD programme team towards development of Provincial Action Plan for Prevention & Control of NCD and health promotion in Punjab addresses the four major NCDs: cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases and the four modifiable risk factors: tobacco use, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.

NCD programme Project Director Dr Farooq informed the participants about the progress of the department since its launch in January 2017, which included establishment of screening desks at 130 secondary and 18 primary health facilities, complemented with screening camps, through which 1,926,679 people have been screened for NCDs, and 146,961 cases have been registered and treated for NCDs at the 40 NCD clinics.

They have trained over 1,600 doctors and paramedics on NCD management. Introducing the action framework, Dr Shabnam Sarfaraz briefed the participants on its rationale and the need of tracking global indicators to benchmark the situation in the province, monitor trends and to assess progress on NCDs. On the occasion, Professor John Chambers emphasised upon the need of comprehensive surveillance and monitoring for NCDs in addition to palliative care, and tracking quality of services being offered for better outcomes.

The roundtable was attended by representatives from the Punjab NCD programme, PSHD, Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department, Punjab Food Authority, Punjab Horticulture Authority, faculty and students from University of Health Sciences, King Edward Medical University and other public and private sector universities. The need of having similar policy dialogues was widely endorsed. This is the first dialogue in the series, with upcoming sessions planned on human resource for health and antimicrobial resistance.

Published in Daily Times, May 6^th 2018.