India, Norway to work together in maternal, adolescent health
NEW DELHI: India and Norway have signed a Letter of Intent to extend health cooperation, especially in the areas of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.
According to the Union Health Ministry, the cooperation between India and Norway will continue to be aligned with the development goals of India as outlined in its National Health Policy 2017 for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
The letter of intent was inked by Union Health Secretary CK Mishra and Norwegian Ambassador Nils Ragnar Kamsvag.
The initiative will be through the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) for a period of three years starting from 2018.
“The cooperation will con- tinue to focus on innovative, catalytic and strategic support, taking the Indian Gov- ernment’s Intensification Plan for Accelerated Maternal and Child Survival in India as the starting point,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Indian and Norwegian Governments had agreed in 2006 to collaborate towards achieving Millenium Development Goals 4 to reduce child mortality based on commitments made by the two Prime Ministers.
The partnership was based on India’s health initiative, the National Health Mission (NHM), and aimed at facilitating rapid scale-up of quality child and maternal health services in four high focus states Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The main activities in Phase I (2006-2012) were homebased newborn care, Yashoda through State health system, establishing Sick Newborn Care Units, techno-managerial support, and providing strategic support for immunization and Public-private Partnership initiatives. NEW DELHI: Cardiovascular disease is one of the major causes of death of women and around 41% of the female population in India suffers from an abnormal lipid profile, a recent study by a diagnostic company has revealed.
The analysis is based on more than 3.3 million lipid profile tests performed at SRL diagnostic labs across India between 2014 and 2016.
For the analysis, the samples received from across the country were divided into four zones -- east, west, north and south.
The reports showed abnormal levels of triglycerides in two zones - north (33.11 per cent) and east (35.67 per cent).
Low HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and high total cholesterol levels, on the other hand, were more common in the south (34.15 per cent) and the west (31.90 per cent) zones.
A lipid profile measures the amount of cholesterol present in lipid carrier proteins like low-density lipoprotein (LDL), highdensity lipoprotein (HDL) etc and triglyceride present in the blood.
High cholesterol levels usually showed no symptoms but often led to the thickening or blocking of arteries, which then resulted in cardiovascular problems such as angina, heart attack or stroke.
Therefore, lipid level diagnosis is one of the most prescribed blood tests worldwide, the study found.
It further showed that the age-group of 46-60 is considered most vulnerable period for cardiovascular diseases in women.
Dr Avinash Phadke, the president technology and mentor (Clinical Pathology) from SRL Diagnostics, said, “Most women worry about breast cancer, but more women die from heart attacks.”
“In India, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. It’s an alarming situation as heart attacks appear differently in women than men and it is more fatal in the post-menopausal women. We should all work together to spread awareness in the society.”
High intake of saturated fat, sugar and salt,low consumption of vegetables and whole grains, coupled with sedentary lifestyles, rising stress levels and smoking are the major contributory factors for deterioration of heart health in women in India, Phadke added.