Thiruvananthapuram: At least 18.14 per cent among the 1.53 crore people screened for diagnosing lifestyle diseases as part of the Ardram Arogyam project in Kerala were found to be having at least one risk factor for major lifestyle diseases, the State Health Department said on Friday (January 5). State Health Minister Veena George said in the first phase, the screening of over 1.53 crore persons above 30 years of age was completed and a follow-up treatment of over 13.6 lakh people was ensured. The second phase of diagnosing lifestyle diseases as part of the Ardram Arogyam project in the state to screen such non-communicable diseases will start soon, Ms George said in a release.
The second phase of the project named “Shaili 2” was finalised in a meeting chaired by Ms George, the Health department said in a release.
In the second stage, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) will visit homes to screen people above 30 years for leprosy, vision and hearing impairment and mental health issues, the department said.
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The Health department said that screening of over 1.53 crore (1,53,25,530) persons were done as part of the first phase in which it was found that over 27.80 lakh (27,80,639) which is 18.14 per cent are likely to develop a serious lifestyle disease.
Among the 20.5 lakh persons who were screened and suspected to be at risk of hypertension, the follow-up revealed that 31 per cent had hypertension and are considered as new cases. It also said that of the 20.45 lakh persons screened and suspected to be having diabetes, 2.7 per cent were confirmed to be newly diabetic.
The department said under the project, the health volunteers will visit the houses and screen for lifestyle diseases which will help in its early detection and control.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
