'Strengthening health systems mandatory for fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases'

Lessons learnt in the past indicate that strengthening health systems is mandatory for fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases, Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said on Friday.

She was addressing the 16th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition (ASCODD) in Kolkata, which was joined by delegates from India and other Southeast Asian countries, African countries, European countries and the United States virtually.

Congratulating the director and the ICMR's National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases for organising the conference, Pawar said, ''Over the years, the ASCODD has expanded the discussions in many dimensions, not only on the epidemiology of cholera and typhoid, but also on enteric vaccine initiatives, antimicrobial resistance, water, environmental and sanitation aspects, molecular diagnostics, food and nutrition etc.'' She highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many ongoing public health programmes globally for the last two-and-a-half years.

''The Government of India, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has made sure that we provide affordable and quality healthcare services to all our citizens. We have taken various initiatives for the benefits of the citizens with a special focus to reach out to the last person. The government has always stressed that as public representatives, it is our moral responsibility that the services should reach the needy.

''The way the Indian healthcare infrastructure is growing is commendable and the world will witness the changes it brings in the years to come,'' Pawar said.

The theme of the ASCODD is ''prevention and control of cholera, typhoid and other enteric diseases in low and middle-income countries through community participation: beyond the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic''.

The minister further highlighted various initiatives under Digital India such as the online registration system, eHospital for hospital management and the eSanjeevani telemedicine app so that people can get treatment from the comfort of their homes.

Pawar said the world has witnessed how India successfully ran a free inoculation programme against Covid for a huge population and administered more than 219 crore doses of the vaccines to the beneficiaries.

''Shouldering the responsibility for the world as well, we provided vaccinations to other nations so that we can win over the pandemic together. Effective use of safe and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and devices, along with safe drinking water and maintaining healthy hygiene, are important determinants affecting universal health coverage and the sustainable development goals.

''Lessons learnt in the past indicate that strengthening health systems is mandatory for fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases,'' she noted.

The conference focuses on the latest issues in enteric infections, nutrition, policy and practice, including a roadmap to end cholera by 2030, cholera vaccine development and rapid diagnostics, contemporary perspectives of antimicrobial resistance of enteric bacteria: new initiatives and challenges, enteric bacterial infections and vaccines against other viral infections, including hepatitis, and the lessons learned about diarrhoea research during the Covid pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)