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Breaking India's Non Communicable Diseases Chain: A Call For Freedom From Chronic Diseases
Noncommunicable diseases silently claim millions of Indian lives each year, but with early action, prevention, and awareness, the country can break this deadly chain.
Every Independence Day, we drape ourselves in the tricolour, sing the anthem, and remind each other how hard freedom was won. But for millions of Indians living with chronic illnesses, true freedom remains out of reach.
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory illnesses, and diabetes collectively called noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) now account for 62% of all deaths in Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization. Every year, nine million people in the region die from these conditions, many before their 70th birthday. Dr Sabine Kapasi, CEO at Enira Consulting, Founder of ROPAN Healthcare, and UN Advisor shares all you need to know:
The threat is not only in the staggering numbers, it lies in the way these diseases silently take root. Poor diets, inactivity, pollution, and genetic predisposition create a slow, invisible chain of damage. By the time symptoms are recognised, it is often too late to reverse them. Yet, most premature NCD deaths are preventable.
The COVID-19 surge in May 2021 made this painfully clear. Obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions sharply increased the risk of death. Thousands who might have survived the virus did not because their bodies were already weakened by diseases they had been silently managing for years.
Globally, NCDs claim 41 million lives annually, including 14 million people aged 30 to 70. Without urgent action, the WHO warns this could rise to 55 million by 2030. For India, the stakes are also economic: reports estimate a loss of $4.58 trillion by 2030 due to NCD-related costs, with heart disease and mental health conditions making up the largest share.
But there is hope. India's preventive health ecosystem is growing—startups, government programmes, and grassroots health workers are joining forces. Metabolic trackers, Oura Rings, Tata 1mg dashboards, and workplace health screenings are already spotting risks early. If we sustain this momentum, by 2047 we could win freedom from preventable diseases, redefining independence as the ability to live well.
The Government's '75/25" initiative aims to bring care to 75 million people with hypertension and diabetes by December 2025. As of March 2025, treatment had reached 42 million people for hypertension and 25 million for diabetes 89% of the target. This progress is encouraging, but numbers alone cannot dismantle stigma, misinformation, or health neglect.
Encouragingly, AIIMS Nagpur and UNICEF Maharashtra are now addressing an often-ignored crisis: NCDs in children. The 2019 Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey revealed alarming trends among children as young as five. Experts warn of a growing risk among children aged 5–9 and adolescents aged 10–19, proof that prevention must begin far earlier than we think.
The fight against NCDs is no longer a public health issue alone, it is a national movement. Just as we once came together to win our political freedom, we must now unite to secure the freedom to live long, healthy, and fulfilling lives.
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