Clinical research training and capacity building for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases: A programme in India

Background. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)-a term which includes diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental illness-are now the major cause of death in India and pose healthcare and economic challenges. There is an urgent need for enhanced clinical research training and capacity building for NCD prevention and control in India. Methods. We describe a multi-pronged approach funded in part by the US National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center, which was initiated in 2001, to train Indian present and future scientists/doctors in NCD prevention and control. The approaches used were annual national seminars, intensive training courses, in-house workshops, short-term training sessions in the USA and monthly video conferences. Results. During 2001-2016, a total of 3650 undergraduate, postgraduate and faculty from medical colleges and institutes from almost all states in India and several neighbouring countries participated in seminars and other capacity-building workshops held at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai and at six other medical colleges; 883 delegates participated in the in-house workshops, 463 in the intensive interactive sessions; 244 in workshops on advanced techniques in genomics; and 37 in short-term training sessions held in the USA. Conclusion. Through this unique capacity-building programme, more than 5000 individuals representing faculty and students from various medical colleges and research institutes across, and beyond, India, underwent training in the prevention and control of NCDs.