Honourable Governor of Meghalaya & Manipur Shri V. Shanmuganathan Stresses the Need to Build Capacity in the Area of Diabetes Management in NE Region at the Convocation of PHFI’s ‘Certificate Course in Evidence Based Diabetes Management’

Meghalaya Diabetes Association in consonance with Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) organized the Convocation of PHFI’s ‘Certificate Course in Evidence Based Diabetes Management (CCEBDM)’ in Shillong today. Present on the occasion was Honourable Governor of Meghalaya and Manipur, Sh. V Shanmugannathan, along with Mr. Jayanto Narayan Chaudhary (IPS Retd.), Vice President, Operations, Public Health Foundation of India, Dr Daljit Singh Sethi, President, Meghalaya Diabetes Association, MD – Hope Clinic and Faculty CCEBDM, Dr. Mihir Sakia, Renowned Diabetologist and National Expert, CCEBDM, Dr. Paul. L. Dkhar, SMO, Nazareth Hospital, Laitumkhrah, Shillong and General Secretary, Meghalaya Diabetes Association. Over 200 doctors, general practitioners, bureaucrats, policy makers and distinguished citizens from the North-eastern region were at the occasion.

While handing over Convocation certificates to 24 successful doctors, the Hon. Governor, Sh. V Shanmugannathanin his presidential address stressed on the need to develop more innovative training and capacity building programmes like CCEBDM to address public health challenges in the north-east region, especially diabetes which is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the region. “The twenty-first century will undoubtedly represent a high point for human civilization in the development and utilization of knowledge and capacity building on an unprecedented scale. We are living in a period of rapid change where new health challenges and NCDs like Cancer and Diabetes are increasing at a brisk rate, especially in the North Eastern region. Hence the need of the hour is to have innovative public health courses like CCEBDM which can produce a trained set of doctors who are equipped with the latest advances in NCD Management, and also follow the latest international and national guidelines.”

In his address Mr. JN Chaudhary, Vice President - Operations, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) said, “Diabetes and its complications represent a rapidly expanding public health concern that is expected to affect millions of people with devastating health and economic consequences. Diabetes is no longer a disease of the rich. It affects a large number of lower middle class and poor individuals and is linked to heart attacks, strokes, cancers and several infections. At PHFI the focus has always been to build public health institutional capacity in India, through interdisciplinary and health system connected education and training. Through innovative courses like CCEBDM, the effort is to scale, translate and transfer emerging evidence from clinical research to clinical practice. I am also happy to announce the launch of the 5^th Cycle of CCEBDM WHICH further extends our services in the entire North East region”.

The Certificate Course in Evidence Based Diabetes Management (CCEBDM) now in its 6^th year, delivered by Public Health Foundation of India and Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Education Academy, Chennai, is a uniquely designed once-a-month executive training program for primary health care physicians with twelve study Modules spread over 12 months, that apprises physicians with not only the latest developments in the field of diabetes management but also equips them to deal with it more efficiently in their day to day undertakings. Workshops are conducted by PHFI designated CCEBDM Regional Faculty who are renowned physicians and Diabetologists. An unrestricted educational grant for this capacity building initiative has been provided by MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. (MSD India).

Lauding PHFI and the CCEBDM program which is working to take Diabetes management and public health to a new height in India, especially in North East, Dr. Daljit Sethi, Senior Faculty CCEBDM, President, Meghalaya Diabetes Association and MD – Hope Clinic said “North eastern region accounts for a greater share in the rising cases of chronic ailments particularly serious diseases like diabetes, heart ailments and cancer and the quality of diabetes care services is far from satisfactory both in urban as well as rural areas. In India, majority of initial diagnosis are made by primary care physicians due to uneven distribution of specialists who are mostly concentrated in urban areas. Therefore it becomes essential to build capacity of primary care physicians for better disease management, especially early diagnosis and management of Diabetes. The CCEBDM course is an excellent attempt to fulfill this aim, especially in North East by training the medical faculty in this direction.”

Dr. Sethi further added “I congratulate the passing doctors and am also happy share that most of the participants in CCEBDM Meghalaya chapter were doctors in state health services and many from remote rural areas. It is the vision of these motivated doctors that I was able to form the Meghalaya Diabetes Association, which will nowjointly with PHFI, address the shortage and enhance capacity of general Physicians in the entire NE region to secure a healthy future for generations ahead”.

Dr. Paul. L. Dkhar, SMO, Nazareth Hospital, Laitumkhrah, Shillong and General Secretary, Meghalaya Diabetes Association who is also the co-regional faculty CCEBDM added that “At present, there are no national validated guidelines for diabetes care in India. This uniquely designed course serves as a model curriculum which is both effective and feasible in preventing, diagnosing and treating diabetes, aiming to strengthen the capacity of doctors to tackle the wide spread challenges, especially in the north east, screening and management. With the formal launch of Meghalaya Diabetes Association, we along with PHFI will now be able to better update knowledge and skills of all fellow medical professionals in the entire region, spread awareness about Diabetes and other non-communicable diseases and assist other members in their services for the community.”

Chronic diseases disproportionately affect the economically disadvantaged, with 80 per cent of all NCD deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries. India is home to over 61 million diabetic patients — an increase from 50.8 million last year. By 2030, India’s diabetes burden is expected to cross the 130 million mark as against 87 million earlier estimated. India’s diabetes burden is second to China, which has 90 million people with diabetes (2011) that will increase to about 130 million by 2030.

NPCDCS data and various studies in North and NE-region showed the prevalence of diabetes around 10% associated with behaviour practices, particularly high calorie diet intake with edible oil, rice, and fish. Sikkim from NE-region showed very high burden of population having blood sugar more than 160 mg/dl. As per the DLHS-4, 6% of men and 5% of women age 18 and above in Meghalaya suffer from diabetes. Another 10% of men and 8% of women age 18 and above in Meghalaya are pre-diabetic. For Hypertension, 14% of men and 10% of women age 18 years and above in Meghalaya are in the stage of prehypertension, while 22% men and 18% of women age 18 years and above are in the stage of hypertension and require medical attention on a priority basis. The increasing socioeconomic strata and decreasing physical activity were significantly associated with NCD in NE- region.

About Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)

The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) is committed to working towards a healthier India. PHFI is helping to build public health institutional capacity in India, through interdisciplinary and health system connected education and training, policy and programme relevant research, evidence based & equity promoting policy development, people empowering health communication & advocacy for prioritised health causes. Established in 2006 as a public private initiative, PHFI is an independent foundation headquartered in New Delhi and its constituent Indian Institutes of Public Health (IIPH) set up by PHFI have a presence in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Delhi NCR, Gandhinagar (Gujarat) and Bhubaneswar (Odisha). The Foundation is managed by an empowered governing board comprising senior government officials, eminent Indian and international academic and scientific leaders, civil society representatives and corporate leaders.

For more information, please visit  www.phfi.org .

For more details on the ‘Certificate Course in Evidence Based Diabetes Management (CCEBDM)’, please visit  www.ccebdm.org .

About Meghalaya Diabetes Association

Meghalaya Diabetes Association’s aim and objective are updating knowledge and skills of all members and fellow medical professionals, to spread awareness about Diabetes and other non-communicable diseases to the people of Meghalaya and to assist other members in their services for the community. This association will also involve certified doctor from CCEBDM to continue the process of learning under leadership of CCEBDM faculty Dr. Daljit Singh Sethi for evidence based management of diabetic patient in Meghalaya State.

For Meghalaya Diabetes Association, please visit  www.meghdia.com .