AMARAVATI, Dec 26:
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday stressed the need to dedicate the next decade, from 2020-2030 to make India healthier by promoting healthy lifestyle, improving healthcare facilities, making healthcare affordable and accessible to all.
Inaugurating Delta Hospitals in Rajahmundry, he suggested that “The private sector must supplement the efforts of the government in improving the healthcare infrastructure, particularly in the rural areas and in providing affordable treatment to the common man.”
Pointing out that achieving universal healthcare has many challenges, including bridging the urban-rural divide in providing quality healthcare facilities, Mr Naidu urged the private sector to expand its footprint to the villages and remote rural areas and reach out to people with affordable healthcare. “It is important for the private sector to complement the efforts of the government in reaching modern healthcare facilities to people living in rural areas,” he said. Bharat Ram, Member of Parliament, Dr R B P R Chowdary, Chairman & Managing Director of Delta Hospitals, B Sreenivas, Director, Delta Hospitals were among those present, an official release said.
Stating that the Government of India had launched several initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat to increase citizens’ access to good quality, affordable healthcare with an aim to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030, the Vice-President called upon the private sector to supplement government’s efforts in achieving the 2030 target.
Mr Naidu urged doctors to show empathy and compassion towards the patients and treat their profession as a mission to serve people and not as a commercial vocation.
He expressed concern over the rising incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and quoted a WHO report as saying that around 61 per cent of deaths in India were attributed to non-communicable diseases, including heart disorders, cancer and diabetes.
He suggested launching a national movement against the growing incidence of NCDs and wanted hospitals, the Indian Medical Association and the medical fraternity to take the lead in creating awareness among people, especially the youth. (UNI)
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