(a) whether the life expectancy has shown improvement in the country over the years;
(b) if so, the details thereof indicating the average life expectancy of male and female in the rural and urban
areas of the country, State/UT-wise;
(c) whether the Government has identified the health challenges to be faced by the country in the coming years
with the increased life expectancy of people;
(d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken/proposed by the Government to meet these challenges; and
(e) the other measures taken/proposed by the Government for providing better health services to ensure
healthy life and to further improve the average life expectancy of people in the country ?
|
|
ANSWER
|
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI GHULAM NABI AZAD)
(a)to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 415 FOR 21ST FEBRUARY, 2014
Estimates based on the Sample Registration System (SRS) of the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner,
India, show that the average life expectancy at birth has been increasing over the years and has increased to 66.1 years
during the period 2006-10 (latest available) from 49.7 years during 1970-75. Estimates are available only for bigger States.
State-wise details of the estimates for the period 2006-10 separately for males and females, with rural-urban break
up are Annexed.
2. A cross-sectional multi-centric community based study of elderly population aged 60 years and above, conducted
jointly by the Government and WHO Country Office in India, has revealed that diseases like hypertension, diabetes
mellitus, ischaemic heart disease, poor vision, difficulty in hearing, anaemia, arthritis, fall / fractures, bowel complaints,
urinary complaints, depression, weight loss, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, TB are common among
older patients.
3. Recognizing the need for specialized accessible health care for the elderly, the Government has launched various
programmes, including the National Programme for Health Care of Elderly (NPHCE) and Integrated Programme for
Older Persons. These programmes aim to provide health care facilities to senior citizens (aged 60 years and above)
at primary, secondary and tertiary health care delivery system and to further increase the average life expectancy of
people. The Government has also enacted ‘Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007’.
|
|