Nagpur: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday (December 01) asked the health care fraternity to work towards making India a leading power in medical research and ensure facilities are so affordable that people from across the world can come to the country to avail them. She was the chief guest at the inauguration of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Nagpur. Hailing GMCH for the services it had rendered in the past 75 years, the President said affordable medical facilities were necessary for the overall development of any society.
The COVID pandemic made everyone realise the importance of a strong health care system, she said. She further added,
It was the hard work of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals which ensured India could vaccinate such a huge population speedily against the disease.
Pointing out that lack of doctors was a big obstacle in providing universal health care, the President said the country had recently seen a good increase in the number of medical colleges as well as MBBS and post graduate seats, all of which would play an important role in providing proper facilities to people.
Disparity in health services is also a problem and the Central government is addressing it by opening medical colleges in districts, which will reduce regional imbalance and the rural-urban divide, President Murmu said.
Also Read: President Droupadi Murmu Urges Young Doctors To Work With Spirit Of Service
Hailing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana as well as the digitisation of medical records, the President underlined the need to spread awareness on organ donation, which at the moment was low.
The President lauded GMCH for its research in mental health and for contributing to the health care sector of Maharashtra. Addressing the gathering, she told,
Take steps in making the country a leading power in medical research and health care and make these so affordable that people from across the world should come to you for health services.
Lauding GMCH for giving good doctors to the country, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state government has given Rs 550 crore for the development of the facility.
This will provide a facelift to the college and hospital due to the addition of modern amenities, said the Deputy Chief Minister, who also told the gathering that he was born in GMCH, Nagpur.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said it was the wish of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that all citizens get good medical facilities at minimum cost.
Mr Gadkari, who is Lok Sabha MP from here, also said GMCH had made Nagpur famous because those who studied medicine here have been tendering services across the world.
Also Read: Maharashtra Announces Medical Insurance Cover For Students Of Government, Aided Colleges
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
