Public health preparedness, syndromic surveillance, and response during the largest religious gathering at the Catholic pilgrimage center of Velankanni in South India: 2016.

Background: The dynamicity and mobility of the population in a mass gathering setting pose a challenge to traditional disease surveillance methods and strain the local health services. Velankanni is one of the most sacred Christian pilgrimage places located in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India. We participated in the Velankanni festival to describe the public health preparedness, surveillance, and response activities carried out during the festival.

Process evaluation of a complex, multilevel, multicomponent scheme for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in Tamil Nadu, India: A mixed-methods protocol.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India, necessitating development of multilevel and multicomponent interventions. (MTM) is a complex multilevel, multicomponent intervention developed and implemented by the south Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The scheme aims to deliver services for preventing and controlling diabetes, and hypertension at doorstep.