1. It
gives me great pleasure to be present here for the Convocation of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical
College. I am honoured to be in this institution whose foundation was laid in
1956 by our country’s first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
2.
This Medical College was established in the memory of Late Shri GaneshShankar
Vidyarthi, who was a
freedom fighter and a learned journalist. A staunch advocate of social justice,
he was a crusader for the oppressed. Through ‘Pratap’, a revolutionary weekly that he had founded,
he fought for the exploited peasants and mill workers. He sacrificed his life
for the nation at the young age of forty years. I pay my homage to this noble
son of India. This Medical College should be guided by the ideals he stood for.
3.
This Institute was the first medical college to be set up in Uttar Pradesh
after our country’s Independence. It was created to develop postgraduate
medical education and to produce specialists in several medical disciplines. It
is today known for its academic excellence and comprehensive patient care
facilities. Those associated with its establishment and growth should have a
justifiable sense of pride and satisfaction.
4.
Ladies and Gentlemen, health is an important indicator of any country’s
progress. Unless citizens enjoy good health, their productive potential cannot
be unleashed fully. Lord GautamBuddha
said and I quote: “To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we
shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear” (unquote). A healthy
population possesses a greater capacity to access education, knowledge and
employment opportunities.
5.
The health status of our population has improved substantially over the years.
But, we are still short of our goals. The infant mortality rate is high at 44
per 1000 live births, while the maternal mortality rate is also high at 212 per
1 lakhlive births. We have
envisaged reducing infant mortality rate to 25 and maternal mortality rate to
100 by the end of the Twelfth Plan period. We must increase our focus on those
states that are lagging behind. The role of Institutes like yours will be
crucial in strengthening the health system in the country.
6.
Availability, quality and affordability are the three cornerstones of a sound
healthcare system. The National Rural Health Mission, launched in 2005, was a
landmark initiative aimed at restructuring health service in our country. It
was designed to take healthcare to the doorstep of the rural population through
a network of sub-centres, primary health centres and community health centres.
7. I
am happy to note the positive results of this Mission. It has created a huge
infrastructure of 1.8 lakh
health centres in the country. This Mission has also added over 1.4 lakh healthcare personnel in the
system. Availability of better infrastructure, trained manpower, effective
drugs and modern equipment has led to significant improvement in service
delivery. But much more needs to be done. A new National Health Mission,
combining the rural mission and a new urban mission, is being launched with an
outlay of over Rs. 21,000 crore
for 2013-14.
8.
There is a need to increase spending on health to augment health services in
our country. Public expenditure on health in India is 1.2 per cent of its GDP.
This is much lower than the 4 per cent plus level in countries like US, UK,
Australia, Norway and Brazil. Public sector spending is constrained by
competing needs. We must therefore encourage increased participation of private
healthcare providers. We must develop innovative models to engage them in
imparting quality healthcare services.
9.
For universal health coverage, affordability is crucial. Expensive medical
treatment can be burdensome for people, especially for the poor. In fact, many
descend into poverty on account of that. High costs effectively deny many
people of specialty medical treatment. This scenario should be rectified by
strengthening the health insurance mechanism. The Rashtriya Swasthya
Bima Yojanagives beneficiaries cash less in-patient
treatment. Its scope should be widened to provide the insured access to
comprehensive primary, secondary and tertiary medical care. We must ensure its
coverage to every one below the poverty line.
10.
Our health coverage strategy should look beyond medical cure and intervention.
Preventive healthcare is relevant in a country like India where lifestyle
diseases have shown a rising trend. Our health system must, therefore, be
equipped to not only treat people but also guide them about prevention of these
medical conditions. Hygiene and sanitation also play a critical role in
preventing diseases. To ensure that efforts in this direction are effective, we
must encourage the active participation of local participatory bodies.
11.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the use of technology in healthcare should be fully
recognized. Using satellite technology, the telemedicine project has connected
remote health centres with super specialty hospitals in urban areas and helped
expert healthcare consultation to reach the needy and under-served people. More
uses of technology in healthcare should be explored. We have to find effective
and inexpensive cure for many diseases. To reduce our reliance on costly
imported equipments for medical procedures, there is a need to develop such
instruments indigenously. The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, 2013
seeks to give a major push to our country’s development through innovation.
This policy should be leveraged by our medical schools, research laboratories,
and the pharmaceutical and instrumentation industries to develop better
formulations and make sophisticated medical instruments. The innovations taking
place in our hospitals and medical colleges must be recognized to provide
encouragement for such activity.
12.
Quality healthcare services require adequate number of competent healthcare
professionals. There were about 241 medical professionals – physicians,
dentists, nurses, pharmacists and others –per one lakh population in 2011-12. We hope to increase the
density of such medical professionals to 354 by the end of the Twelfth Plan.
13.
This calls for setting up more institutes for quality medical education. It is
good that six AIIMS like institutions are being set up to give impetus to such
efforts. There is also a need to increase the capacity of our existing medical
schools and nursing colleges and enhance their standards. I am confident that
our public medical colleges will be able to meet the twin challenge of greater
quantity and better quality. The success of our healthcare system will depend
on the competency, commitment and dedication of our doctors and other medical
professionals.
14.
Medical institutions like yours should give a serious thought to the kind of
health system that our country should have. Whether we possess a fully
commercial system based on profit incentive or a one responsive to our
socio-economic conditions depends on the kind of value education that you will
inculcate in the students. I call upon you to build in the minds of the young
doctors a strong sense of patriotism and social responsibility. The urge for
our young doctors to undergo higher studies in premier institutions abroad to
acquire greater expertise and widen their horizon is easily understandable. But
they should retain the sacred link with their own motherland. We must find ways
to enable such meritorious and qualified doctors to contribute to national
welfare.
15.
Medicine is a profession respected by all in society. Doctors are given a place
next to God. I am sure our medical fraternity will respect the good faith and
trust that people have bestowed upon them. Doctors entering the profession are
administered the Hippocratic Oath. It is necessary to instill in the young minds the true meaning of this
oath. The medical institutions therefore have a duty to infuse the notions of
ethical behaviour in their students.
16. I
congratulate the students who have received their degrees today. Your
professional degree has empowered you to contribute to the nation, to touch and
transform the lives of millions. I hope that you will remain firm in your
conviction to the higher objective of selfless service to society. I wish you
all success in life and career. I also wish the doctors, faculty members and
others working in this great institute every success in their endeavours.
Thank
you.
Jai
Hind.
