Health crisis looms large over South Asia: World Bank

There was a time when our forefathers worked their fat and calories off in the fields. They had hearts that played long innings. But the economic and epidemiological changes in India and South Asia, in general, have brought their own bag of diseases.

When, as Bruce Sterling puts it, “billions of dollars are riding on your butt,”(sitting and staring at computer screens), the onset of NCDs is only matter of time. The economy flourishes. Bums feel cushy. But, slightly, above the hearts start bumbling. And that’s not a pleasant feeling.

According to World Bank report, released on Wednesday, health crisis is looming large over India, in particular and South Asian countries in general. The region is facing rising rates of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other Non-communicable diseases(NCDS), the report says.

The report details
World Bank’s report is a recent study of 52 countries from all over the world. It includes India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. South Asians, it says, are six years younger (53 Vs 59 years) at the time of their first heart attack, than those in the rest of the world.

To make it more a cussed situation, people in the region have high levels of risk factors such as diabetes, high lipids, lower physical activity, and unhealthy eating habits. The report, however, doesn’t say anything about how much risk South Asians pose to each other even in normal times.

The report delineates chilling pattern that could occur in people’s health over the next one or two decades, in terms of heart disease, hypertension, chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and cancer.

The report predicts that cardiovascular diseases would be the main cause of death (nearly 36 percent) by 2030. At present, heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the age group between 15 and 69.

The number of people with hypertension would rise from 118.2 million in 2000, the report adds, to 213.5 million by 2025.

Two to nine percent of men suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Northern India compared to one to four percent in south India. Tobacco is main reason for COPD in men while inhaling smoke from fuels like dung cakes and wood are the main reason in women.

As for dreaded ‘C’ word, the report says, over 70 percent of the cancers are diagnosed in advanced stages, which results in poor survival rate.

As if this is not enough, road accident deaths and injuries are on the rise, the report says. The stats are simply gut-churning: 100,000 deaths; 2 million hospitalizations; 7.7 million. And, according to the report, pedestrians, two-wheeler drivers and cyclists live to see another day after what it calls “non-fatal road traffic injuries.”

Apparently, this includes people with lesser number of limbs they are born with. These problems occur predominantly in 15 to 45-year-old males.

Study implications
Any of these diseases, especially heart disease, is a death knell for poor people. If the disease doesn’t kill poor person, the cost to get it treated might. The cost of the care usually hollows out families.

As Michel Rutkowski, the World Bank’s South Asia Director for Human Development, said, “South Asia is at a crossroads with rising inequality; poor people struggling to get access to quality health, education, and infrastructure service; a growing share of the population ageing unhealthily; and with health systems that are failing to adjust to people’’ needs.”

Although average life expectancy in South Asia is now at 64, people are living longer with pretty much in the same living conditions and state of health care. This is leading South Asians to become more vulnerable to cancers, diabetes, obesity and heart disease.