Preparedness for delivering non-communicable disease services in primary care: access to medicines for diabetes and hypertension in a district in south India

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become a major public health challenge worldwide; they account for 28 million deaths per year in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Like many other LMICs, India is struggling to organise quality care for a large NCD-affected population especially at the primary healthcare level. The aim of this study was to assess local health system preparedness in a South Indian primary healthcare setting for addressing diabetes and hypertension. The study found that a majority of households depended on private facilities for diabetes and hypertension care because of the lack of laboratory facilities and frequent medicine stock outs at PHCs. Financial and managerial resource allocation for NCDs and prioritisation of care and processes related to NCDs was suboptimal compared to the prominence of this agenda at global and national levels. There is a need to improve managerial and financial resource allocation towards diabetes and hypertension (and other NCDs) at the district level.

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Elias MA, Pati MK, Aivalli P, Srinath B, Munegowda C, Shroff ZC et al. Preparedness for delivering non-communicable disease services in primary care: access to medicines for diabetes and hypertension in a district in south India. BMJ Global Health. 2018; 2(Suppl 3):e000519. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000519