Kerala on Thursday, September 24, won a United Nations award for its ‘outstanding contribution’ towards the non-communicable diseases-related sustainable development goals.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the UN Interagency Task Force (UNIATF) award this year on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

Achievements during 2019 on the multi-sectoral action in the prevention and control of NCDs, mental health and the wider NCD-related sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been recognized by the award.

‘The state government has arranged facilities from the basic public health centres to hospitals at all levels to treat the lifestyle diseases,’ NDTV quoted Health Minister KK Shailaja as saying in a statement. ‘We were able to control the death rate during the COVID-19 period as we were able to focus on the NCDs.’

Shailaja congratulated the health workers on the state’s achievement.

Kerala, which is among the seven ministries of health across the world, has been recognized for this annual award for the first time.

As per the state government’s release, the award was a recognition of Kerala’s lifestyle disease control mechanism, as well as the treatment and free services given to a large section of the population.

‘In addition, the state-of-the-art lung disease control program, cancer treatment program and paralysis control program were also considered for the award,’ it said.

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