Health & Wellness

India wins UN award for hypertension control initiative under National Health Mission

India wins UN award for hypertension control initiative under National Health Mission

On Wednesday, India received a United Nations award for its Hypertension Control Initiative, a large-scale hypertension intervention inside the current primary healthcare system under the National Health Mission (NHM). The accomplishment comes at a time when the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in every four persons in India has hypertension, with just 12% of these adults having hypertension under control.

The 'India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI),' a large-scale hypertension intervention under the National Health Mission, has identified and treated 3.4 million hypertensive individuals at various government health institutions. The campaign was established in 2017 and gradually expanded to span more than 130 districts in 23 states. According to official data, at least 3.4 million individuals with hypertension are being treated in government health facilities, including Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Centres (HWCs), under the project.

The UN award honors India's excellent commitment and effort in preventing and controlling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as well as providing integrated people-centered primary care. The UN Task Force has recognized organizations that use a multispectral approach to NCD prevention and control, as well as multispectral action with shown outcomes in primary care for NCD prevention and control and associated SDGs (SDGs).

Hypertension is known as the "silent disease," and it is estimated that one in every four persons in India has excessive blood pressure. Controlling hypertension at the primary care level will help to reduce fatalities from heart attacks, strokes, and renal failure.