Azadi from Diseases – Heart Care Foundation of India
Azadi from Diseases
New Delhi, August 15, 2016: 15th August should not only be a reminder of independence from the British but a commitment on a yearly basis to eradicate one more disease said Padma Shri Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal – President Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) and Honorary Secretary General IMA. Every year efforts should be made to start a ‘Quit’ India Movement for a particular disease.
The International Task Force for Disease Eradication in 1992 identified six “eradicable” or “potentially eradicable” infectious diseases. These are dracunculiasis, poliomyelitis, mumps, rubella, lymphatic filariasis, and cysticercosis. In 2002, measles was added to this list.
Of these only guinea worm disease or dracunculiasis has already been eradicated from India.
Malaria, yellow fever, and yaws eradication programmes of earlier years were unsuccessful but they contributed greatly to a better understanding of the biological, social, political, and economic complexities of achieving the ultimate goal in disease control. In early 1997, WHO listed leprosy, onchocerciasis (River blindness), and Chaga’s disease as being candidates for elimination” as public health problems within ten years”.
Its time for us to form an India force and start working on eradicable diseases.
Dr Aggarwal further pointed out that an effective cardiovascular control program should be strengthened all over the country as heart attacks are not known to occur in wild animals.
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About Heart Care Foundation of India
Initiated in 1986, the Heart Care Foundation of India is a leading National NGO working in the field of creating mass health awareness among people from all walks of life and providing solutions for India’s everyday healthcare needs. The NGO uses consumer-based entertainment modules to impart health education and increase awareness amongst people. A leading example of this is the Perfect Health Mela, an annual event started in 1993 that is attended by over 2-3 lakh people each year. The Mela showcases activities across categories such as health education seminars and check-ups, entertainment programs, lifestyle exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and competitions. In addition to this, the NGO conducts programs and camps to train people on the technique of hands only CPR through its CPR 10 mantra for revival after a sudden cardiac arrest. They currently hold three Limca book of world records for the maximum number of people trained in hands-only CPR in one go. Keeping article 21 of the Indian constitution in mind, which guarantees a person Right to Life, Heart Care Foundation of India has also recently initiated a project called the Sameer Malik Heart Care Foundation Fund to ensure that no one dies of a heart disease just because they cannot afford treatment.
