[October 19, 2010]  As of 2005, India experienced the “highest loss in potentially productive years of life” worldwide, according to an article published in The Lancet.The projected cumulative loss of national income for India due to non-communicable disease mortality for 2006-2015 will be USD237 billion. By 2030, this productivity loss was expected to double to 17.9 million years lost – almost 1,000% greater than the corresponding loss in the United States, which has a population a third the size of India’s.

Like in developed countries, India must either shift government health expenditures towards, or increase absolute spending on, prevention, screening, early intervention, and new medical treatments reducing the burden of chronic disease. These measures are essential for the health of India as well as its economic progress.

Universal access to preventive and curative intervention is crucial. Early detection of hypertension and other risk factors reduces cardiovascular disease mortality 35-60%. Further, multi-drug regimens for patients can reduce the risk of CVD and stroke. Early detection and treatment of cancers account for a 30-80% reduction in mortality.

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Attachments:

The Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases in India

[A Cameron Institute report]

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