India Earned USD 7,400 Million Through Medical Tourism In Last Decade: Officials

Kolkata: India generated an income of USD 7,400 million through medical tourism over the last decade, and the figure is expected to rise to USD 43,500 million in the next 10 years, officials said. The health sector in India has seen many private investments in the past five years, they said on Wednesday (June 14) at the Indian Chamber of Commerce-organised BIMSTEC Health Forum here.

Among the issues discussed by the delegates were the inclusion of mental health under overall health, focus on universal health coverage, telemedicine, information sharing, human capital exchange and collaborative opportunities. An official said,

Because BIMSTEC nations are sensitive to climate change, coordination between the commercial and public healthcare sectors, as well as the government, is required to effect good change while keeping the environment in mind

Also Read: How Telehealth Is Going To Revolutionize Medical Tourism In India In 2023

Medical tourism is a recognised export from two BIMSTEC members — India and Thailand. A partnership with the Thai government has also been proposed to adopt ‘Swastha Sathi’ facilities (West Bengal government’s healthcare scheme) and come up with a progressive plan in medical insurance, the officials said.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation that was established in 1997. The region has a combined population of over 1.68 billion people and a GDP of around USD 2.88 trillion.

(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 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. 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 – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) 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, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, 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 likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.