Vice President addresses 10th convocation of JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research
New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today called upon the doctors, hospitals and medical colleges in both public and private sectors to launch a campaign to prevent non –communicable diseases by creating awareness among the people particularly among the youngsters.
Addressing the 10th convocation of JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, in Mysuru today, Shri Naidu asked them to visit the schools and colleges in their neighborhood and to conduct awareness campaigns on the measures to be needed to maintain healthy lifestyle.
He expressed concern over the increasing incidents of Non-Communicable diseases (NCDs) in India. Quoting a WHO report, the Vice President said that nearly 61% of deaths in India are due to non-communicable diseases. What is even more worrying is the early onset of lifestyle diseases in India, he said.
To counter this prevalence of Non Communicable Diseases, Shri Naidu stressed the need for adopting a healthy lifestyle and good dietary habits highlighting that “unhealthy food and sedentary lifestyle were contributing to increase in NCDs.”
He also expressed the need to establish NCD clinics in both urban and rural areas and called upon the private sector to play a prominent role in setting up such clinics.
The Vice President appealed to the youth to keep physically fit by taking active part in sports and yoga. He said that yoga is an ancient Indian art and science and has nothing to do with religion.
He drew attention to the Fit India campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and appealed to the youth to take this mission forward and make it a people’s movement to build India that was both healthy and happy.
“A nation with unhealthy population cannot progress,” he said.
Talking about the state of Indian healthcare sector, Shri Naidu said that India has achieved significant progress since Independence on various health indicators such as life expectancy, maternal mortality rate etc. However, he said that there was still a lot to be done on many fronts such as shortage of qualified doctor and resultant low doctor-patient ratio, high share of out-of-pocket expenditure, inadequate infrastructure in rural areas and inadequate preventive mechanisms.
Welcoming the decision of the Union Government to establish a medical college in every district, the Vice President however there was a need for setting up more medical colleges to address the shortage of healthcare professionals.
The Vice president said that newly constituted National Medical Commission (NMC) is a step in right direction and expressed hope that the Commission will provide for a medical education system that is inclusive, affordable, and ensures availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals in all parts of the country.
Expressing concern at the gradual erosion of human touch in doctor-patient relationship, Shri Naidu said that “there should be an effective communication between the doctor and his/her patient and latter should always be treated with empathy and humanism.”
‘Medical courses curriculum should also include subjects like bio-ethics, humanities and communication skills’, he said.
Mentioning the old saying that ‘Prevention is Better than Cure’, Shri Naidu expressed need to give importance to preventive aspects of medical education.
The Vice President appreciated Sri Suttur Math JSS Acedamy of Higher Education for the service to the society and called upon the youth to work for eradication of social evils such as casteism, gender and social discrimination from India.
The event was attended by Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji, Shri V. Somanna, Minister of Housing, Govt. of Karnataka alongwith the faculty members and students of JSSAHER.