India receives UN honour for hypertension control initiative

New Delhi: India received a UN honour on Wednesday for its Hypertension Control Initiative. The initiative is a significant intervention under the National Health Mission intervention (NHM).

Announcing the achievement, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted, "India wins an @UN award for "India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)" - a large-scale hypertension intervention within the existing primary healthcare system under National Health Mission. IHCI has strengthened PM @NarendraModi Ji's mission to ensure health & wellness for all."

At a side event held in conjunction with the UN General Assembly in New York, the "2022 UN Interagency Task Force and WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Award" was presented. The award comes as the WHO estimates that only 12% of Indian adults have hypertension under control, with one in four of them suffering from the condition. 3.4 million hypertensive patients were found and started on treatment at various government health facilities as a result of the effort, NIE reported.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the WHO Country Office for India, Resolve to Save Lives (Technical partner) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are all partners in the IHCI effort.

"Hypertension kills more adults than any other cause. Treatment of people with a high-risk of CVD is one of the best buys recommended by the WHO and scaling hypertension treatment and control can save millions of lives in the next decade," according to Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO Representative to India.