From the Man who was behind Polio Eradication in India.....
Inaugurated Centre for Addiction Medicine Complex at NIMHANS, Bangalore.
Every person in India should be given 50 medicines free, which can cure 90 major diseases. This will help make our country disease free and it is a step towards reaching preventive and positive health care.
Alcoholism and consumption of tobacco are major contributors to ill health in India. They contribute to more than 60% of non communicable diseases in the present day youth. In addition, in synergy between the two, complicate the outcome of some of the major communicable infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV alerting the immune status of the individual.
Recent epidemiological studies from India have estimated the prevalence of alcohol dependence at about 5% in the adult population, whereas hazardous and harmful use is noted in about 50% alcohol users, approximately corresponding to 15% of all adult males and 2.5 percent of all adult females in the country. The public health programmes need to disseminate this knowledge to the youth and focus on harm reduction by delaying the first use while at the same time aggressively enrol and pursue ways of dissuading the use.
Our national policies need to place greater emphasis on the health of the youth; both men and women, as their health impact the education, employment and social behaviour and the children should be used for health campaigns, as they are the effective messengers. NIMHANS has been the pioneer and leader in the discipline mental health and neurosciences in India. The status of Institute of National Importance is a tribute to various patient care activities, innovations in the use of technology, path- breaking research in basic, applied and clinical sciences and translating this research into action.
In the present social system as practiced by NIMHANS, it is essential to extend the psychological rehabilitative to the spouses of alcoholics and the children of alcoholics. Similarly liaison with industrial and labour organisations is essential to identify the vulnerable group and rehabilitate them, thus help the family and the society. In addiction to alcohol and drugs and behavioural traits of gambling and dependence to internet will have a telling effect to work efficiency and the work ethics of the organisation. Recently Yoga and meditation are realized to be cost effective yet efficacies treatment strategies. Government is also trying to follow these methods in addition to conventional allopathic medication. It is time for us to enrol and collaborate actively with NGOs and train nursing students, psychiatric social workers to ANM to be part of the work force rather than depending on tertiary care centres.
It is now imperative to integrate intervention programmes to prevent alcohol and drug misuse into the routine medical care. The early detection and brief intervention for alcohol and tobacco misuse need to be combined with every primary and secondary health care consultation including with the emergency service and tied to the three flagship health care initiatives of the Government of India like National Health Commission, National Agenda for Non Communicable diseases and National Rural Health Programme. This integrated approach is yielding positive results and the present Government is committed to it.
I am happy to dedicate the facilities at the centre for Addiction Medicine to the Nation, urging other centres to join hands to spread the message. I urged NIMHANS to address and promote social medicine to combat the evils of alcoholism, drug abuse, but at the same time enhance gender sensitivity, stamp out meaningless intolerance and violence and promote harmony among people.
Shri. Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education, Government of Karnataka, Shri. U.T Khader , Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka, Prof. Satishchandra, Director and VC , NIMHANS, Prof.V.Ravi, Registrar, NIMHANS were present on the occasion.
( hari krishnamurthy K. HARIHARAN)"think of them as Sand paper.
They Scratch & hurt you,
but in the end you are polished and they are finished. ''
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