Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi yesterday instructed the relevant officials to expedite the preparation of long-term and short-term plans to protect the people from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and to take steps to provide financial assistance to implement those plans in a more efficient manner.
The National Council for Non-Communicable Diseases met yesterday (16) at the Ministry of Health under the patronage of Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi.
The Minister said that 83 percent of deaths in the country are due to major NCDs such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and kidney diseases. She pledged to take all the policy decisions to control NCDs.
Relevant officials representing other Ministries and Government and Non-Governmental Organizations were also involved in this through Zoom Technology.
The activities of the past few years for the control of non-communicable diseases and the current activities were discussed and reviewed at the meeting. The Minister reviewed the implementation, planning, and implementation of future measures to control and prevent non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and mental illnesses.
The National Council on Non-Communicable Diseases was established in 2017 and meets every six months to review the next steps to be taken to control non-communicable diseases. It is chaired by the Minister of Health.