Gk Questions with Answers

1.The 15th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of BIMSTEC countries has started in which city?

New Delhi Colombo Naypyidaw Kathmandu

2.Rinku Hooda, who won silver at the World U-20 Para Athletics Championships, is associated with which sports?

Javelin throw Wrestling Sprint Judo

3.The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has launched Android Skill Development programme with which tech giant?

Microsoft Google Facebook Wipro

4.Which state government has launched a new awareness drive “Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra”?

West Bengal Bihar Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand

5.Which state will become the India’s first state to implement coal utilisation between power units?

Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan Assam

NCDs in South Asia(cont...)

DALYs attributable to 10 leading risk factors by sex, adults 15–69 years, South Asia, 2004

Additional research is finding that cardiovascular risk is highest for South Asians among the world’s regions (Goyal and Yusuf 2006). A recent study of 52 countries from all over the world, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, found that South Asians were 6 years younger (53 vs59 years) than those in the rest of the world at their first heart attack, had high levels of risk factors for CVD such as diabetes and high lipids, and had low levels of protective factors such as physical activity and healthy dietary habits.

The South Asians, therefore, appearing to have a greater susceptibility to CVD, it may have an even greater impact in the future than previously appreciated (Goyal and Yusuf 2006; Ramaraj and Chellappa 2008). In terms of DALYs forgone to risk factors, Figure 1.4 (for men and women) shows very different risk profiles. However, for both sexes, most of the risk factors are related to NCDs.

NCDs in South Asia(cont...)

Methods to describe the health situation in South Asia

Mortality data in the region are limited. Therefore, to describe the health situation, we use age-standardized undiscounted disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which measure the
number of years a person would lose due to disability and premature mortality. Death rates
are presented where possible. A number of health surveys have been carried out in the
region; they are very useful at the country level, but often not comparable at the regional
level (Chapter 3).

Demographic, economic, and health profiles for low- and middle-income regions

In the last few years, though, for the first time, all countries in the region have emocratically elected their governments.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The region's performance on meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been

mixed. Looking beyond consumption and poverty, the region has had encouraging success in some areas: for instance, infant mortality rates have dropped from about 120 in 1980 to 58 in 2008. However, challenges remain in key areas such as child malnutrition, maternal mortality, and gender balance in education and health outcomes.

Regional Demographic and Epidemiologic Transitions(cont...)

Figure 1.1 Dependency ratios in developed and developing countries

Developed Developing

Source: UN 2007.

Many implications from these transitions are evident. First, the burden will grow in the future, overwhelming the health sector and making it less responsive. If unaddressed, the impact of NCDs on individuals in terms of short- and long-term disability and premature death and forgone wages will be significant and worsen dependency ratios.

NCDs in South Asia

Regional Disease Burden and Risk Factors

In South Asia the disease burden is shifting: the burden of NCDs (55 percent including injuries) now more than that of communicable diseases, MCH issues, and nutrition causes combined (46 percent) (Figure 1.3)

Figure 1.3 Burden of disease as a proportion of total forgone DALYs by cause, selected regions, 2004

Source: WHO revised 2004 Global Burden of Disease estimates, http://www.who.int/healthinfo/bodgbd2002revised/en/index.html, accessed July 2009.

Regional Demographic and Epidemiologic Transitions(cont...)

While progression of both transitions is predictable, the rate of progression is not, and can be highly variable—as evident in the South Asia region. These transitions are unfolding at a pace where a substantial residual burden remains from communicable diseases, MCH issues, and nutrition causes—an important point from at least two angles. First, evidence is emerging that links MCH and nutrition issues to NCD risk later in life.

Example

undernutrition during fetal gestation and early childhood, and low rates of consistent breastfeeding, both common in South Asian populations, are associated with increased risk for chronic NCDs in adult life. Second, individuals with both an NCD and an infectious disease tend to have worse outcomes compared to having either alone.

Aging as a result of these transitions will in itself increase the prevalence of NCDs because they are more common with increasing age. Other factors—including lifestyle changes that may be associated with urbanization and globalization—can also increase the risk of NCD onset at younger ages. In the context of development, the impact of these two transitions is substantial because of the demographic dividend, that is, where developing countries’ working and nondependent population increases and per capita income thus rises (Figure 1.2).