Readiness of Primary Health Care System to combat Non-Communicable Diseases at Costal District of Andhra Pradesh

Background: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’S) kill 41 million people each year, which is 74% of all deaths globally. NCDs are estimated for 63% of all deaths in country, of which the cardiovascular diseases (27%) followed by chronic respiratory diseases (11%), cancers (9%), diabetes (3%) and others (13%). WHO offers guidance and aid to Member States to enhance NCD outcomes, advocating cost-effective measures for NCD prevention and management. It developed Package of essential non-communicable (PEN) disease interventions for primary health care in low-resource settings. These are cost-effective and can be delivered to an acceptable quality in resource-poor settings. GOI has launched National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer Diabetes Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) in the year 2010. Methods: A cross-sectional study has been conducted among 38 Primary Health Centers (PHC) to assess their preparedness to handle NCD’s using WHO - PEN criteria as standards, questionnaire was self-administered to Medical Officers (MO) at the facilities of district. Facilities were assessed for items and domains (equipment, drug supplies and laboratory services) with a main focus on management of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Responses were collected from MO s and compared availability of an items across levels of primary care facilities. Conclusion: Primary health care facilities should gear up for comprehensive NCD prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and management