India, along with 100 countries, is participating in a campaign to raise awareness on hypertension, called May Measurement Month. Under the drive, about 25 million people will be screened across the participating nations during the month.

In India, several key government agencies, led by the Indian Council of Medical Research, have come together to conduct the drive across 500 sites, with an aim to screen 2.5 million people in the age group of 18-65 years.

Interestingly, the government has also tied up with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), which recently came under fire from the government, with the Ministry of Home Affairs cancelling the organisation’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licence.

PHFI, however, continues to work with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on several projects. A senior official in the Ministry, in fact, told BusinessLine that if the health advocacy group was to withdraw from government projects, costs would rise prohibitively for the government.

The group has been lending a helping hand to the Ministry in implementing projects in several technical capacities, including training of personnel.

Besides PHFI, the Centre for Chronic Disease Control, Indian Medical Association, Army Medical Corps, Association of Physicians of India, Association of Healthcare Providers (India), several healthcare institutions and the industry, have joined hands for the global campaign.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure (BP), is considered to be one of the most significant killers among Indians. While research shows that Indians are susceptible to heart ailments, several other environmental factors, such as air pollution, changing diets and lifestyle, have increased the risk of developing high BP.

In India it is estimated that one in 10 people die due to hypertension, accounting for over 2.6 lakh deaths a year.

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