Background

The Supreme Court has issued a significant directive requiring 19 States and Union Territories that have not yet done so to consider declaring cancer a "notifiable disease." This direction emerged from a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that highlighted critical deficiencies in India's cancer surveillance infrastructure.

Current Status of Cancer Notification

  • 17 out of 36 States and UTs have already notified cancer, following Parliamentary Standing Committee recommendations
  • 19 States and UTs are yet to make this declaration
  • The ICMR's National Cancer Registry Programme covers only about 10% of India's population
  • Rural coverage is as low as 1%, indicating massive gaps in cancer data collection

Benefits of Declaring Cancer Notifiable

  1. Mandatory reporting of all diagnosed cancer cases
  2. Systematic data maintenance by governments
  3. Strengthened surveillance mechanisms
  4. Promoted early detection of cancer cases
  5. Improved planning for treatment and care facilities

Understanding Notifiable Diseases

Definition

Notifiable diseases are those legally mandated to be reported to public health authorities under relevant laws.

Legal Framework

  • Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 serves as the primary legislation
  • Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) is the main surveillance framework
  • Managed by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)

Implications of Notification

Once a disease is declared notifiable:

  • All healthcare providers (public and private) must report
  • Hospitals and medical practitioners are legally obligated
  • Reporting required for suspected, probable, and confirmed cases
  • Ensures comprehensive data collection across all sectors

Commonly Notified Diseases

  • Tuberculosis
  • Dengue
  • Malaria
  • Cholera
  • Hepatitis
  • Measles
  • Leptospirosis
  • Polio
  • Covid-19 was universally declared notifiable during the pandemic

Recent Additions

  • Snakebite - notified in 2024
  • Human rabies - notified in 2025

Decentralized Notification System in India

Key Characteristics

  • No single uniform national list of notifiable diseases
  • Authority to declare rests primarily with state/UT governments (with legislative assembly)
  • Results in variations in disease notification lists across states
  • Creates challenges for national-level surveillance and policy coordination

International Commitment

International Health Regulations (2005)

  • Legally binding international law under WHO
  • Requires member countries to inform WHO about public health risks
  • Applies to events that may have international health implications
  • Applies irrespective of origin or source of the health risk

Constitutional and Governance Dimensions

  • Health is a state subject under the Seventh Schedule (Entry 6, List II)
  • This explains the decentralized approach to disease notification
  • Central government provides technical guidance through bodies like ICMR and NCDC
  • Supreme Court's suo motu jurisdiction enables such directives for public interest