India’s cities, their non-communicable disease burden
The HinduThe recent case where a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus driver passed away after cardiac arrest while on duty, has set off discussions on rising poor health outcomes in our cities. The health burden in urban India Poor urban communities face a triple health burden: hazardous work environments, limited health-care access, and financial vulnerability during health crises, that are exacerbated by social and economic marginalisation. In a country whose foundation of health systems sits on strong primary health care, it is problematic that the availability and access to publicly-run primary health care are abysmally poor among urban marginals. This is the time for State-level action plans for NCD health care, which lay an emphasis on access to primary health care for marginalised communities and poor urban neighbourhoods — migrants, informal workforce, people living in informal settlements.