Strengthening Preventive Healthcare Key to Tackling Obesity and Lifestyle Diseases: Health Minister at CII Exclusive Meeting
· Free Press Journal
CII held discussions with with Minister Prakashrao Abitkar, Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare, Maharashtra, Padma Dr Ramakant Deshpande, Chairman, CII Western Region Sub-Committee on Healthcare, and Dr Alpa Antani, Regional Director, CII, on strengthening preventive healthcare and developing a scalable, data-driven health model for Maharashtra, with obesity emerging as a key priority.
The discussions focused on setting up a State-level task force to drive coordinated action on obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases, with a strong emphasis on prevention, early detection and sustained public awareness.
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Prakashrao Abitkar said Maharashtra needs to give greater priority to preventive healthcare, particularly addressing obesity and the growing burden of lifestyle-related diseases. He stressed the need for coordinated efforts involving the government, industry, doctors, medical institutions and communities to promote healthier lifestyles, strengthen early detection and reduce the long-term burden of chronic diseases.
CII said Maharashtra has the opportunity to set an example for the country by taking a focused approach to obesity prevention and leading preventive healthcare efforts across Western India through sustained awareness campaigns, stronger collaboration and community participation.
Padma Dr Ramakant Deshpande, Chairman, CII WR Sub-Committee on Healthcare and Chairman, Asian Cancer Institute, said, “Preventive healthcare needs to become a sustained public movement, with early detection, awareness and community participation at its core. Obesity must be addressed as a priority, as it is closely linked to several chronic diseases. Maharashtra has the healthcare ecosystem and expertise to build a model that can be scaled across the country.”
The interaction also highlighted the need for greater collaboration among the government, CII, medical colleges, health professionals, students and community organisations, while creating a pipeline of future health leaders and community champions.