New Delhi: Union Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant here on Friday (September 22) chaired the National Urban Health Conclave with the theme ‘Developing a Joint Roadmap for Strengthening Health Systems Resilience.’ The event was aimed at discussing and devising strategies for bolstering healthcare systems in urban areas. During his address, Mr Sudhansh Pant underscored the critical importance of enhancing the primary and secondary healthcare infrastructure in urban regions, read the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare press release. He emphasised the pivotal role of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, where their involvement has significantly improved healthcare services.
He noted that the inclusion of ULBs not only enhances healthcare quality but also makes it more affordable and accessible to urban residents.
Mr Pant said,
The state of the healthcare services will improve substantially with the involvement and participation of ULBs in delivering them and at the same time it will make the healthcare services more affordable and accessible to the urban dwellers.
Highlighting the collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Mr Sudhansh Pant stressed the need for synergy between these entities.
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He expressed optimism that this collaboration would contribute to creating a sustainable, healthy, and safe urban environment for the urban population. He called upon all states and union territories to work towards bridging gaps in healthcare delivery. Mr Pant said,
By working together, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and National /State teams can create a synergy which will lead to more sustainable, healthy and safe urban environment for urban population.
Manoj Joshi, Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the importance of adapting healthcare services to the specific requirements of urban areas, read the press release.
He praised the rural health and wellness centres and stressed the need for healthcare alignment based on the unique characteristics of each region.
Mr Joshi said,
Alignment of healthcare services as per the requirements of the landscape is paramount.
The National Urban Health Conclave saw the participation of several dignitaries, including LS Changsan, Additional Secretary and MD of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Vishal Chauhan, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Major General (Prof) Atul Kotwal, Executive Director of the National Health Systems Resource Centre.
Government officials from both the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, as well as representatives from various states, also attended the event, the release said.
The conclave provided a platform for discussions and the exchange of best practices, with the aim of strengthening the urban healthcare ecosystem and ensuring improved healthcare services for urban populations.
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(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 wheretoilets are 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.
