Updated on: Tuesday, May 07, 2013
To help create awareness about non-communicable diseases and check their spread, the government plans to introduce health as a subject at school level for which consultations with the HRD ministry are underway.
This was informed by director general of health services Jagdish Prasad here on Monday.
He said the initiative has been suggested by the health department to make aware children about diabetics at school level.
Prasad said consultations are underway with the ministry of human resource development (HRD) as well as the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare for preparing framework of the course, "which will be a compulsory subject".
He said, "Finland is a country which was able to come out of diabetics because of the introduction of education about diabetics in the school level from class 4th to 10th...We have already given money to Western institute of family welfare to prepare the course."
Prasad said diabetics is a lifestyle disease caused by unbalanced diet. Green vegetables, fruits and performing yoga can decrease stress and quitting smoking and alcohol will help overcome diabetics.
He also said, "In the 12th five year plan, we will cover all 644 districts. We are concentrating on district hospitals to make people aware of non-communicable diseases. Earlier we had given them information on communicable diseases."