New Delhi: Union Health Minister J P Nadda urged the industry and academia on Saturday to suggest a roadmap to ensure better healthcare services in the country. Addressing the Healthcare Summit at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIMA), Nadda said India’s remarkable healthcare evolution over the last 10 years is marked by significant achievements and that the MedTech sector is growing rapidly and is expected to reach USD 30 billion by 2030.
The Centre for Management of Health Services (CMHS) and the Alumni and External Relations Office at the IIMA, in collaboration with the IIMA Healthcare Alumni Special Interest Group (ASIG), organised the second edition of the IIMA Healthcare Summit on Saturday on the theme of “Advancing Healthcare for India @ 2047”.
“India’s remarkable healthcare evolution over the past decade is marked by significant achievements, such as expanding medical infrastructure, including significant growth in the number of AIIMS and medical colleges; strengthening of public healthcare with initiatives like Ayushman Bharat and Mission Indradhanush, implementation of robust disease control measures that is exemplified by a substantial dip in malaria cases and the COVID-19 pandemic response, and so on,” the health minister said.
He added that the government’s commitment to accessible healthcare has led to this transformative change.
By fulfilling about 20 per cent of the global generic drug supply needs by volume and producing 60 per cent of the world’s vaccines, India now stands as a global leader in affordable medicines and vaccines, Nadda said.
In his concluding remarks, the minister exhorted the industry and academia to contribute to policy interventions with their research and said, “Research work of the industry and academia is meant to be implemented in policies and we, as policymakers, are ready to do it.
“You suggest to us the roadmap for policy interventions, innovations, joint collaborations, and we will support you in every way to build that road.”
The Union minister felicitated the winners of the healthcare hackathon organised by the IIMA as a pre-summit event for students and startups on the theme of “Digital Strategies for Universal Health Coverage by 2047″ and “Managing Non communicable Diseases by 2047”.