Venkaiah Naidu recently inaugurated a Mega Health Camp at Andhra Pradesh and cautioned people against falling prey to illnesses caused by modern and sedentary lifestyles.

Dr. Kamineni Srinivas, Minister for Health and Medical Education, Andhra Pradesh, Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao, Minister for Water Resources Management, Andhra Pradesh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. 

The Vice President expressed concern that lack of physical activity and modern dietary habits were causing lifestyle diseases.

He said, “People should take physical activities like walking, jogging, cycling and practicing Yoga to lead a healthy life. He appealed the medical fraternity to educate and create awareness on the dangers of modern lifestyle diseases and the need to adopt preventive measures.”

He further said that as against the WHO norm of one doctor per 1,000, there is one doctor per 1,700 population in India. To overcome the shortage of medical professionals in the country, a high-level committee of Planning Commission (Now NITI Aayog) has recommended the setting up of 187 more medical colleges by 2022, headed. 

"The governments alone cannot meet the growing healthcare demands and wanted the private sector and NGOs to supplement the efforts of the government”, he added.

He also appealed Centre and State governments to focus on improving healthcare services in rural and backward areas.