Arogya World, a US-based non-profit organization with a domestic presence in Bangalore, unveiled new healthy workplace criteria as the first step of its Healthy Workplace Programme - jointly developed by Arogya World and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) - these criteria will promote workplace wellness, help reduce the burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), and offer companies a competitive edge via increased talent retention and higher productivity. The Healthy Workplace Criteria was launched to mark two important milestones this month: the World Economic Forum Summit on India (6-8 November 2012), which has NCDs on its agenda, and World Diabetes Day (14 November).

Workplaces offer an incredible platform for NCD prevention and are a key focus area in India for Arogya World. Speaking at the launch, Dr Geeta Bharadwaj – Head, Healthy Workplace Initiative, Arogya World, India, said: “As chronic disease and stress levels soar and attrition rates rise, it’s imperative that companies shift from illness containment to wellness promotion. Such a paradigm shift would boost positive work outcomes, improve organizational excellence and promote employee retention.”

Speaking at the launch event, Keshav Desiraju – special secretary, Health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare affirmed: “India is committed to reducing the burden of NCDs, which cause 50% of all deaths in our country. As people spend half their waking hours at work, it is important to increase health consciousness at the workplace. I am pleased that workplaces are being used in innovative ‘whole of society’ approaches to combat NCDs.”

Conveying his support for the Healthy Workplace initiative, Prof K Srinath Reddy – president, PHFI, said: “India is hard hit by NCDs, with around 20% people harbouring at least one chronic disease and 10% having more than one. Against this backdrop, workplace wellness efforts like this one, if scaled up, could play a crucial role in effecting a positive public health outcome.”

As ageing and NCDs – mainly diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancer and chronic diseases – increasingly afflict workforces, preserving employee health and promoting productivity increases is imperative. In India, NCDs increasingly cause higher death and disease rates, and a WHO report says CVDs would be the major cause of death and disability in the country by 2020. Diabetes is another dangerous disease affecting people all across the nation, with 61.3 million presently afflicted. If untreated, diabetes can lead to CVDs, blindness, amputations and kidney failure. Yet another deadly disease across urban and rural India is hypertension – the most prevalent chronic disease, with around 33% Indians afflicted with hypertension.

"NCDs are one of the greatest health and development challenges of the century. While it is expected that NCDs will be responsible for an accumulative global output loss of US$ 47 trillion in the next 30 years, there is a strong business case for the effectiveness of workplace programmes, including a return on investment of $3-4 for every $1 spent", said Dr Eva Jane-Llopis, Head - Health Programmes from The World Economic Forum.

The WHO emphasizes that approximately 80% of heart disease and diabetes and 40% of cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyles such as avoiding tobacco use, eating healthy foods and increasing daily physical activity. This is at the core of all of Arogya World’s work.