Submitted by Dr. Norm Campbell, CM MD DSc (hon) FRCPC, World Hypertension League Advisor, the University of Calgary, Canada
World Hypertension Day, May 17, 2023, was celebrated as a major event, a G20 co-branded event organized by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India in collaboration with the World Health Organization, India in New Delhi. At the meeting, the Ministry of Health announced an initiative to treat over 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes by 2025. This represents the start of the most ambitious hypertension and non communicable disease treatment program the world has and likely will ever see.
Government of India Press Release.
The World Hypertension Day celebrations highlighted very substantive efforts to build the foundation for hypertension treatment and control in India over the last decade or more. One hundred and fifty thousand new Ayushman Bharat health and wellness centres have been functional and a program to train over 40,000 health professionals using a standard hypertension and diabetes algorithm has been started. The national NCD Portal for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) was unveiled in which patients are to be registered and monitored. There will be enhanced regulations to improve the quality of blood pressure and glucose measurement devices and to have a reliable distribution system for medications and required equipment. Hypertension management is integrated with the treatment of diabetes (type 2), with plans to further expand the program to additional citizens and other noncommunicable diseases. Thus, hypertension and diabetes initiatives are pathfinders for the treatment of all NCDs and also fundamental building blocks to markedly enhance the quality and capacity of primary care. While the target to treat 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes sounds aspirational, there was no question left that a very extensive implementation plan to achieve the target is in place.[1]
Finally, a national government is urgently addressing the world’s leading risk for death, increased blood pressure. The integration with diabetes management will further have a major impact on the health and wellness of Indian citizens. Hypertension occurs in more than 7 in 10 people with diabetes and diabetes occurs in about 1 in 5 people with hypertension. The two conditions together markedly increase the risk of death and disability. Hypertension causes about 40% of deaths in people with diabetes and diabetes markedly increases the risk from hypertension. National diabetes and cardiovascular experts presented collaboratively supporting the integration at the co-branded joint meeting.
The meeting was attended by Member Health NITI Aayog, Secretary of Health, Special Secretary of Health, Director General of Health Services, Joint Secretary of Health (NCDs) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Executive Director, National Health System Resource Centre and other senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, along with senior health officers from the various states of India, representatives from G20 and WHO South East Asia Region Member States. World Stroke Organization, World Diabetes Foundation, other professional associations, global & national experts, and civil society organizations also participated in the event. The WHO Representative to India and NCD country office team led the work, supported by the technical officer and coordinator NCD from SEARO, along with the unit head and Director NCDs from WHO Headquarters (Geneva).
The announcement from India is being taken up by other countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region and will lead to a substantive effort in reducing CVD mortality in the region.
The Indian initiative and SEARO commitment, recognizing NCDs are the major cause of death and disability, that management is cost effective and will strengthen their health care system and society, improving the health and well being of their citizens, should be an inspiration to all nations of the world.
