Health Awareness Week for the Elderly was organized by the National Human rights Commission and HelpAge India from 20 - 24 March 2006 in New Delhi. Inaugurating the campaign, the Chairperson of the Commission Dr. Justice A.S. Anand lamented that a major part of the recommendations under National Policy for Older Persons are yet to be implemented. He said that healthcare has two aspects - preventive and curative. While the individual is well aware of the curative part, the preventive aspect to health care does not get sufficient attention. This could be due to ignorance and lack of awareness on the importance of preventive measures needed to be adopted especially in tackling non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension etc, he said.
At the inauguration, Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, Professor of Cardiology, AIIMS who is also a member of NHRC's Core Group on Health, highlighted the areas of health, which has engaged the attention of the Commission in the last few years.
The weeklong initiative from 20 - 24 March 2006 was an attempt to address the crucial needs of the elderly that are not fully understood by them and their caregivers and to spread awareness of diseases that affect the elderly.
Dr. Srinath Reddy, Dr. Nikhil Tandon, Prof. (Dr.) Atul Kumar, Prof. (Dr.) Surya Bhan and Prof. (Dr.) N.P. Gupta from All India Institute of Medical Sciences; Dr. G.S. Meena and Dr. Jugal Kishore from Maulana Azad Medical College; Dr. Mohan Nair and Dr. Mathew Varghese from St. Stephen's Hospital; Dr. Jhingan from Delhi Diabetes Research Centre; Dr. Prema Ramachandran from National Foundation of India; Col. (Dr.) Sanjiv Chopra of Armed Forces Clinic; Dr. Avdesh Sharma of Rahat Charitable Trust and Dr. Ashok Seth of Max Heart & Vascular Institute spoke on various subjects such as heart attacks and strokes, diabetes, vision impairment, arthritis and bone disorders, diseases of prostate gland etc. Sessions on nutrition for the elderly and specific health concerns of older women were also held.