Punjab ranks low in non-communicable disease screening

Punjab ranks 27th out of 28 states and union territories in screening for non-communicable diseases. As of March 12, the state has only met 10% of its screening target, making it unlikely to meet the March 31 deadline. The National Programme for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases aims to screen 92.34 lakh people over 30 in Punjab. So far, only 9.99 lakh have been screened for hypertension and 8.79 lakh for diabetes. Health officials in Punjab claim that around 80 lakh people have been screened, but data has not been uploaded. They attribute delays to manpower shortages and the complexity of the data entry process.