Kerala Wins UN Award For Control Of Non-Communicable Diseases

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has won a United Nations award on Thursday for its “outstanding contribution” towards the non-communicable diseases-related sustainable development goals. The UN Interagency Task Force (UNIATF) award this year on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases was announced by World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The award recognises achievements during 2019 on the multi-sectoral action in the prevention and control of NCDs, mental health and the wider NCD-related sustainable development goals (SDGs).

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Health Minister KK Shailaja said the award was a recognition of the tireless service of Kerala in the health sector.

“The state government has arranged facilities from the basic public health centres to hospitals at all levels to treat the lifestyle diseases,” Ms Shailaja said in a statement.

We were able to control the death rate during the COVID-19 period as we were able to focus on the NCDs.

She congratulated all the health workers for the achievement of the state.

This is the first time the state has been recognised for this annual award. Kerala is among the seven ministries of health across the world.

The state government release said the award was a recognition of the lifestyle disease control mechanism in Kerala, and the treatment and free services received by a large section of the population.

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In addition, the state-of-the-art lung disease control program, cancer treatment program and paralysis control program were also considered for the award, it said.

Also Read: Kerala Leveraging Social Media To Contain COVID-19, Starts WhatsApp Groups For People In Quarantine

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.