Hyderabad: MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi released the first-of-its-kind door-to-door family health survey conducted by an NGO, the Helping Hand, has revealed various problems being faced by the residents of the Old City. Of the 5,485 households surveyed, 87 per cent were reported to be facing chronic disease or physical disability, 21 per cent of respondents were found to be suffering from high BP, 16 per cent from both diabetes and high BP, 8 per cent from diabetes and 8 per cent from cardiovascular disease.
Mr Owaisi said, “The health budget must be increased to two to three per cent of the GDP. If India has to compete with its peers like China, it should compete in healthcare as health is an important factor in the country’s development.” He said better infrastructure and services would help benefit a larger number of people, and offered to treat certain critical cases at the Owaisi Hospital and the Princess Asra Hospital.
Citing discontent over the health status of Ind-ians, particularly women, he quoted a Princeton University report, which he said stated that over 40 per cent pregnant women were underweight, “a catastrophe that must be a immediately dealt with for upcoming generations to be healthier.” He said: “The survey is a wake-up call as the government needs to address the burning problems in the health sector and especially in the minority areas. However, I am happy that cardiovascular disease is only 8 per cent despite the myth that Muslims indulge in heavy food. The other diseases and problems need to be addressed by the government as early as possible.”
Mr Mujtaba Askari, president of the NGO, said, one of the key findings was that in the pockets of marginalised sections, 86 per cent of the respondents stated that they do not get proper attention and care in government hospitals and were hesitant to go there.
