Everyone is aware of the saying 'Prevention is better than cure.' This holds water not only in terms of health but is also friendly on pocket. Although, the significant economic benefits of preventive healthcare cannot be emphasised enough in terms of reducing long-term healthcare costs, increasing productivity, and improving overall economic output, it still remains neglected and overlooked in our healthcare system. We, Indians, spend around 2 per cent of GDP on healthcare. Even this meagre allocation is spent on seeking care only when illness strikes. This has become the hallmark of our society, managing illness rather than preventing it. However, with rising healthcare costs and an explosion of non-communicable diseases, preventive healthcare can no longer be overlooked. It is high time India shifts its focus from curative health care to preventive health management. Curative healthcare is not only expensive at individual level and destroys household savings, it reduces productivity at the national level and overburdens an already fragile healthcare infrastructure.

Non-communicable diseases have spread like wild fire where a whopping 63 per cent of all deaths in the country are due to life style diseases like diabetes,........

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