Eradicating chronic diseases through speedy implementation: A way forward.

PESHAWAR -- Hamayun Khan (49), an employee of the federal government's department, was living a happy life with a smiley face in office and home unless he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer by the doctors that proved fatal for him.

Known for sharing cracking jokes with friends and colleagues, Hamayun Khan, a resident of Pabbi Nowshera was unaware of being the victim of the disease, used his tractor in fields at his native town after duty hours in a bid to earn additional income to feed his six-member family in the wake of exorbitant price-hike and inflation.

'My father was very kind and loving personality, who was known for cracking jokes with his friends and office colleagues. I took him for a medical checkup to a private clinic at Dabagari Garden Peshawar since he was not taking meal properly, looking anemic and getting weaker and weaker with every passing day,' said Hamayun's elder son Jalal Khan.

Jalal told reporter that the doctor diagnosed the last stage of pancreatic cancer, which had badly affected his key organ and advised to pray for him as the disease was incurable. In desperation, Jalal took his father to one and the other private doctor in a bid to save his life and spent all the hard-earned money on his surgeries but to no use and finally Hamayun lost a battle for life as cancer had spread throughout the whole body.

According to the KP health department report, cancers and neoplasm were the second largest non-communicable diseases (NCD), which accounted 9.92per cent of total death in 2019 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Among NCDs, the cardiovascular diseases claimed 21.95 percent patients' lives out of the total casualties while the number of stroke and Ischemic heart disease cases have jumped to 0.236 million and six lac respectively in the province.

Likewise, four million people have suffered from a mental health disorder, 1.18 million with diabetes and 5.17 million with a liver disorder in the province as reported by the KP burden of disease data for the year 2019.

The burden of NCD group, which was 32.6 per cent (16,050 disability adjusted life years 'DALYs' lost per 100,000 population) of the total burden in year of 2000, has increased its share to 39.5percent (15,457 DALYs per 100,000 population) in 2019 during PTI's government tenure.

The neonatal mortality has remained 42 out of 1000 live birth while under five years mortality was recorded 64 out of 100 live birth while 53 infants died out of 1000 live births in the...