In a major boost to the efforts to tackle the surge of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in Odisha, the Centre has approved extension of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) to five more districts from this year. Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam, Sambalpur and Rayagada will join Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Malkangiri and Balangir, where the NPCDCS implementation has gathered momentum. Under the NPCDCS programme, NCD cells and clinics would soon be opened in the new districts to start screening of population for diabetes, hypertension, cancer and other diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The district headquarters hospitals (DHHs) will be upgraded with critical care units, advanced laboratories and daycare cancer centres while intensifying awareness and educational drives at the community level. In the first phase, six-bed ICUs and daycare centres would be set up in Sambalpur and Khurda districts. Laboratories in all the DHHs will be upgraded with state-of-the-art equipment to conduct advanced tests to detect hypertension, renal diseases, cancer. The approval of the Centre came after persistent demands of State Government for inclusion of five new districts since the last one year. State Health Minister Damodar Rout and Secretary PK Mohapatra had taken up the matter with the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry earlier this month for grant of the proposal before the commencement of 2014-15 fiscal. The Centre while giving the go ahead has allocated ` 6.9 crore for the new districts. The funds will be used for setting up infrastructure and manpower recruitment to start the NCD cell and NCD clinics in the first phase. “The activities will start as soon as the fund are made available. Learning from experience during NPCDCS implementation in the first five districts, we are planning to start services immediately without waiting for infrastructure development and construction works. Available vacant space at the DHHs can be utilised for start of programme while construction of integrated NCD complexes can go on alongside,” State Nodal officer for NPCDCS Dr PKB Patnaik said.