COIMBATORE: The health department has begun a 100-day campaign to screen people for non-communicable diseases under the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam (healthcare at people’s doorstep) scheme.
The campaign that began on June 16 would go on till September 23 with a break on Sundays. The target is to screen one lakh people a day and one crore people during the entire period. The objective of the scheme is early identification of non-communicable diseases and treatment.
In a circular to deputy directors of health services, T S Selvavinayagam, director of public health, said the prevalence of hypertension was 34% and diabetes mellitus 18% among the population as per the STEPS survey in 2020. “However, patients enlisted in the Tamil Nadu population health registry with the above conditions are far below the survey numbers.”
He said the number of people screened for non-communicable diseases under the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam was much lesser than the target in many health units. “So, the district health departments are instructed to conduct a special campaign. Men will be screened for hypertension, diabetes & oral cancer, while women will also be screened for cervical & breast cancer.” tnn
