NEW DELHI, Dec 18:
India is witnessing a significant reduction in fresh cases of deadly HIV, which have come down by as much as 57 per cent, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said today.
“There have been significant falls in MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), IMR (Infant Mortality Rates) and TFR as well as reduction in new HIV cases by as much as 57 percent,” he said, while addressing the India Health Summit organised by CII here.
Azad said this will be the second successive year which will see a polio-free India, which is the longest polio-free period ever since eradication efforts were launched.
“We have stepped up efforts to meet public health challenges such as Influenza A- H1N1 pandemic and the credit goes to ICMR and our Indian manufacturers to have domestically develop testing regents and vaccines to combat H1N1,” Azad said.
He said ICMR is currently working on 75 leads of potential public health importance for development and evaluation of affordable diagnostics, including indigenously developed test for diabetes, TB and cancer.
The Minister said the Health Ministry in the last three years have focused on reforming policies related to medical and paramedical education in order to meet the acute shortage of human resources in health.
“For these several policy decisions the availability of MBBS seats and PG seats will increase by 40 and 80 percent respectively. I am sure that by next year the increase in MBBS and PG seats will touch 50 percent and 100 percent respectively,” said Azad.
To meet shortage of nursing staff, Azad said his ministry has sanctioned 269 nursing schools with an outlay of Rs 2,030 crores. These institutions will produce an additional 20,000 nurses annually.
Admitting that a huge population, especially those in rural India, still do not have access to proper health facilities, Azad stressed the need for creating facilities that are affordable to all.
Azad also said that efficiency of health care delivery can be enhanced by using information and technology in health care.
“Despite constant efforts by both the Government and private sector health providers there is still a huge population without adequate access to comprehensive health facilities,” he said.
“There is a low penetration of health care services due to the fact that majority of secondary and tertiary health care facilities are in cities and towns, far away from rural areas, where 75 per cent of population lives,” he said.
Keeping in view the size of our population and wide variations in the social economic and geographical conditions, Azad said there is a need for efficient, high quality, specialised treatments, which should be affordable, transparent and accessible.
Azad billed that the Indian healthcare industry is expected to reach USD 100 million by 2015.
In order to provide efficient and affordable healthcare, Azad said that Public-Private Partnership Model (PPP) need to be explored in a big way. (PTI)
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