The Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation are calling for a greater collaboration between stakeholders and enhanced advocacy to combat Non-Communicable Diseases, NCDs in Bhutan. According to the National Health Survey 2023, NCDs continue to be one of the leading causes of death. The WHO attributes over 70 per cent of deaths in the country to NCDs of which over 23 per cent are premature deaths or death before the age of 60.
The Ministry of Health and WHO gathered about 20 Civil Society Organisations, education sectors and government agencies along with other relevant stakeholders for a two-day workshop to enhance NCDs risk interventions.
According to the health ministry, recommendations from the workshop will be crucial in formulating the Multisectoral National Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2025 to 2030.
The last multisectoral action plan was published for 2015 till 2020 and it needs to be reviewed every five years.
The ministry says such workshops shed light on challenges surrounding NCDs and encourage collaboration between stakeholders to prevent, manage and control life-style related diseases in the country.
Pemba Wangchuk, Health Secretary said “Over the past decade, Bhutan has witnessed a steady rise in NCD -related cases. According to the Health Survey, the prevalence of raised blood glucose increased from 2 per cent in 2019 to 5 .8 per cent in 2024, and the prevalence of hypertension increased to 30 per cent in 2024.”
Dr Bhupinder Kaur Aulakh, Representative of WHO Bhutan Office said “There are many risk factors which are responsible. They are tobacco-the biggest one, alcohol, physical inactivity, high consumption of salt and sugar, leading to diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. And we need to do some multisectoral, collaborative action. We need to do a lot of health advocacy so that our youth, our people, we can prevent them from suffering and prevent them from dying.”
In addition, the workshop also saw discussions on collaboration to address disability and mental health.
Pemba Wangchuk, the Scretary said “Many individuals living with NCDs face a greater risk of developing disabilities. Likewise, persons with disabilities are often at higher risk of NCDs due to limited access to health care services, rehabilitation and appropriate interventions. Addressing NCDs without considering the impact on disability and vice versa would be an incomplete effort. Together these issues pose a dual challenge to the realisation of our goal of a healthy, inclusive society.”
Wangmo, a parent said “Here, experts from different agencies sit at the table. When we share our story, it’s not that we are seeking sympathy but if they understand our story even a bit, there are lots of parents like us, about 1000 of us, and even though only a few of us have come forward, these directly or indirectly benefit those families.”
Andrea Bruni, Advisor of Mental Health Regional at WHO SEARO said “Normally people with mental health conditions have so many needs. Some of them can be addressed by the health sector, but some others are with other areas, departments, entities and bodies. For example, people may have needs, financial needs, but also needs in terms of shelter and accommodation, needs in terms of education, in terms of justice, in terms of employment, which is very often a big challenge, especially when it comes to people suffering from severe mental health conditions.”
According to the officials from health ministry, the ministry has been allocated more than 40 million ngultrum in this fiscal year to address NCDs related issues.
Karchung, Programme Officer of NCD Division said “For the NCD risk factors activities, what we have right now is to have an NCD screening for the population 18 years and above. And along with the NCD screening, we also planned awareness and advocacy programme for the entire population. So, basically what we have emphasised is after the NCD screening, the Minister of Health said that every primary health centres, hospitals, will be following up the cases in terms of the cases detected.”
In the 13th Five Year Plan, over Nu 30 M has been allocated for promoting healthy lifestyle among Bhutanese, and over Nu 120 M for implementing evidence informed intervention to reduce burden of NCDs.
In addition, over Nu 130 M has been allocated to address disability related issues in Bhutan.
Singye Dema
Edited by Phub Gyem
