The 15th World Rural Health Conference 2018 was inaugurated at India Habitat Centre yesterday. Dignitaries like Venkaiah Naidu, Honorable Vice President; Ashwani Kumar Choubey; Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare; Dr John Wynn, Chairperson, Rural WONCA; Dr Raman Kumar, Organising Chairman and National President, AFPI; and Dr Ankit Om, State President, AFPI, New Delhi graced the occasion. This world conference for rural health was organized first time in India.
Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the event formally. Several foreign delegates, medical practitioners and professional trainees from over 40 countries are participating in this four-day-long conference. While emphasizing the importance of rural development the Vice-president in his inaugural address remarked that medical practitioners are equivalent to god and any doctor wishing for growth in the medical arena will be required to serve in rural areas for a considerable period of time. He also highlighted the importance of healthy living in developing good health.
He further added, “Prime-Minister Modi wants medical college for every district. The super-speciality hospital is also the need of the hour. Along with this, the PHCs and CHCs have to be strengthened further. That is only possible with the rotation of doctors. The doctors must also show the preference to work in rural areas. A possible solution to address the shortage of doctors in rural areas can be making the posting of fresh MBBS graduates in rural areas mandatory.”
Several workshops will be conducted to discuss the strategies to improve the current healthcare structure which will be helpful in generating innovations for the betterment of primary healthcare structure in India. Discussions on scientific programs and rural health visits to remote areas by medical fraternity will be few highlights of this mega event.
“Rural health is a major concern across the globe and with the majority of Indian population being in the rural, their health needs prime focus. The aim of the conference is to aspire for achieving sustainable Development goals by 2030 (SDG3).” said Dr John Wynn, Chairperson, Rural WONCA. Cultural programmes for this four-day long event include Rural Health Ideathon, International filmmaking and art festivals on rural health. The programme also includes short films, abstracts, documentary, animations and videos.
Dr Raman Kumar, Organising Chairman and National President, AFPI while talking about the poignant state of rural healthcare in India said, “Improvements in the rural and primary health care have become a serious concern to focus on which pose a major challenge to the nation in terms of provision of health services. In India, where almost 70% of the population resides in the rural areas, such conferences will promote well being for all irrespective of age. Government’s involvements in framing research and methods for amending the primary health structure will not only improve the healthcare of our country but also will contribute in the overall development of the country.”