Strengthening policy and governance to address the growing burden of diabetes in Nepal.
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Date
2016-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
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Abstract
Diabetes poses a major challenge to Nepal’s health-care system. Deaths due to
noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have increased from 51% of all deaths in
the country in 2010 to 60% in 2014. In 2014, diabetes and other essential NCDs
accounted for 46% of the total deaths and 22% of premature deaths in the country.
As diabetes is common in adults of working age, the impact will further impoverish
individuals and families in Nepal, where out-of-pocket expenditure for health
remains high. To halt the rise in diabetes and obesity, the government of Nepal will
have to adopt a public health approach that balances individual and population-level
interventions. Awareness, early diagnosis and prevention are key to management
and control of diabetes. To date, there has been no nationwide robust programme
for diabetes prevention in the country and services are inaccessible to much of
the Nepalese population. However, under the NCD Multisectoral Action Plan
(2014–2020), there will be phase-wise implementation of the World Health
Organization Package of Essential Noncommunicable (PEN) disease interventions
for primary health care in low-resource settings. The NCD PEN brings opportunities
to strengthen the health workforce, diagnostics, medicines and supplies, the
health information system, and research and surveillance and to reduce inequity
in diabetes care in Nepal.
Description
Keywords
diabetes, low-income countries, primary health-care system, universal health coverage, WHO PEN package
Citation
WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 2016;5(1): 40-43.