A Healthy Population is a Fundamental Ingredient of Inclusive Development and Nation building – Vice President
Chandigarh, July 6, 2013: The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari has said that a healthy population is a fundamental ingredient of inclusive development and nation building. Universal access to quality health care is not just a social imperative; it is a necessary condition for economic progress and prosperity. Addressing at the “Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh” at Cha
ndigarh today, he said that an unhealthy population imposes enormous social and economic costs on society and hinders sustainable development.
He said that high quality preventive and curative care is now available within the country for treating complicated diseases and performing complex procedures, which was not always the case in the past. India is now emerging as an important destination for what is termed as ‘medical tourism’ with visitors from all over the world coming to our country for treatment and healthcare.
The Vice President expressed his concern that despite these achievements, however, the overall health profile of our burgeoning population projects a disturbing picture. According to a 2005 WHO study, the estimated economic loss to India due to deaths caused by all the diseases was 1.3% of its GDP. With an increase in the number of non-communicable diseases this loss, if it is not checked, is apprehended to increases to 5% of GDP by 2015.
He said that the Planning Commission has concluded that deaths due to non-communicable diseases alone, which already account for nearly half of all deaths, are expected to rise cumulatively and India stands to lose 237 billion dollars during the decade 2005-2015, if timely interventions are not made. Communicable diseases are also major causes of morbidity and mortality, leading to lower level of economic activity, missed educational opportunities and a direct negative impact on growth due to high health care costs.
The Vice President opined that greater use of information & communication technology would be useful in taking healthcare to the remotest parts of the country by enabling remotely-located health care centers to interact with super specially hospitals in urban centers for provision of health care consultation to the needy and under-served population. In this regard, he complimented PGIMER, Chandigarh for imparting medical education using information technology.
He said that high quality preventive and curative care is now available within the country for treating complicated diseases and performing complex procedures, which was not always the case in the past. India is now emerging as an important destination for what is termed as ‘medical tourism’ with visitors from all over the world coming to our country for treatment and healthcare.
The Vice President expressed his concern that despite these achievements, however, the overall health profile of our burgeoning population projects a disturbing picture. According to a 2005 WHO study, the estimated economic loss to India due to deaths caused by all the diseases was 1.3% of its GDP. With an increase in the number of non-communicable diseases this loss, if it is not checked, is apprehended to increases to 5% of GDP by 2015.
He said that the Planning Commission has concluded that deaths due to non-communicable diseases alone, which already account for nearly half of all deaths, are expected to rise cumulatively and India stands to lose 237 billion dollars during the decade 2005-2015, if timely interventions are not made. Communicable diseases are also major causes of morbidity and mortality, leading to lower level of economic activity, missed educational opportunities and a direct negative impact on growth due to high health care costs.
The Vice President opined that greater use of information & communication technology would be useful in taking healthcare to the remotest parts of the country by enabling remotely-located health care centers to interact with super specially hospitals in urban centers for provision of health care consultation to the needy and under-served population. In this regard, he complimented PGIMER, Chandigarh for imparting medical education using information technology.
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