Ahmedabad: A workshop on the findings of the Lancet Commission on “A Citizen-Centred Health System for India” was organized by SEWA’s health team, Lok Swasthya SEWA, for Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. While public health experts highlighted a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes, the commission members underlined “remarkable progress” in universal health coverage.“We conducted a survey of 50,000 households, the largest of its kind, which has yielded fresh data and insights. This survey, conducted in 121 districts and across 29 states, provided us direction and shaped our key recommendations. We were also able to share the views and aspirations of SEWA members, all informal women workers, for whom we have been working with and for on health care for several years,” said Mirai Chatterjee, commissioner on the Lancet Commission, and director, SEWA Social Security.Researchers associated with the project noted an increase in NCDs. The data shows that hypertension affects around 20% of adults aged 35-40 years, rising to nearly 33% in those above 40 in some districts. Diabetes prevalence stands at approximately 16%, with higher rates in urban centres such as Ahmedabad, researchers said at the workshop. They also highlighted the issue of underweight children, citing NITI Aayog data from earlier studies.
