Six States to get branches of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)

The Government recently set up NCDC branches in 6 states- Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.

About National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC):

• The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), formerly the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) had been established at Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh) in 1909 and following expansion was renamed in 1927 as the Malaria Survey of India.
• In 2009, NICD transforms into National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) with a larger mandate of controlling emerging and re-emerging diseases.
• The mandate of the Institute broadly covers three areas viz. services, trained health manpower development and research.
• Presently, the Institute has 8 out-station branches located at Alwar (Rajasthan), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Kozhikode (Kerela), Coonoor (Tamil Nadu), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Patna (Bihar), Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
• Nodal Agency: It functions as the nodal agency in the country for disease surveillance facilitating prevention and control of communicable diseases.
• Disease Surveillance: NCDC has the capacity and capability for disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and rapid response to contain and combat outbreaks.
• Referral Diagnostic Support: NCDC also provides referral diagnostic support, capacity building and technical support to States/UTs in the country.

Potential Role of NCDC:

• NCDC will play a pivotal role in disease surveillance in disease prevention, control and management.
• The NCDC branches in the states and UTs will support the State Govts in timely disease surveillance and monitoring and also add on to the PM-ABHIM (Prime Minister- Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission).
• It will provide a boost to public health infrastructure with prompt surveillance, rapid detection and monitoring of diseases, thereby enabling early interventions.
• The state branches will coordinate with NCDC, headquartered in New Delhi with real-time sharing of data and information aided by cutting-edge technology.
• NCDC branches would also be crucial in ensuring the timely availability of updated guidelines so that accurate scientifically backed information can be disseminated easily.
• It is a shift from a “token to total approach” where states are our partners in the spirit of collaborative and cooperative federalism to ensure quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to all.