Friday, Mar 29, 2024 | Last Update : 05:08 PM IST

  Health camps at trade fair this year

Health camps at trade fair this year

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : Nov 13, 2015, 5:59 am IST
Updated : Nov 13, 2015, 5:59 am IST

Concerned about the spurt in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the Union health ministry will set up around seven health check-up camps in Pragati Maidan during the upcoming India International Trade

Concerned about the spurt in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the Union health ministry will set up around seven health check-up camps in Pragati Maidan during the upcoming India International Trade Fair. To attract people, special arrangements like Facebook desks and selfie contests have been designed.

A massive Facebook application has been designed wherein the visitor will be photographed along with messages on NCDs like “Let cancer be only a zodiac sign” and “Say no to tobacco” etc. These photos will then be posted on the visitors’ Facebook pages, along with the ministry of health and family welfare page. Likewise, a real-time Twitter campaign will be initiated. Also, for the first time, live video streaming of the campaign will be done through periscope.

“The trade fair attracts a large footfall. This makes it an ideal location to carry out awareness and screening campaigns on NCDs,” said Anshu Prakash, joint secretary in the health ministry. It is expected that more than 55,000 visitors shall be screened for common NCDs during the fair. There will be doctors and counsellors from different streams, including Ayush and yoga, to provide a holistic approach.

The ministry is in talks with celebrities like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and political leaders so that they can participate and motivate more people to visit these camps. The campaign gains significance as out of the total number of deaths, 60 per cent happen due to the NCDs.

While 26 per cent of the deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), 7 per cent due to cancer, 2 per cent due to diabetes, 13 per cent due to chronic respiratory diseases, 12 per cent due to injuries and 12 per cent due to other problems etc.

“Different crowd-pulling techniques like reward programmes, quizzes, nukkad nataks and flash mobs to engage with visitors for effective communication will also take place,” added Mr Prakash.

Experts from premier institutes of India, like All-India institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ram Manohar Lohia, Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College, along with hundreds of paramedics, counsellors, will participate in the “Swasthya Chetna Abhiyan”.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi