NEW DELHI: “When we go back to our states from this immersive Chintan Shivir, let us employ the learnings from this conclave and sresolve through our focused policies that we shall saturate the nation with Ayushman Bharat cards, and Ayushman Bharat Health Account IDs; and make our states TB Mukt, and also work towards eliminating leprosy, Kalaazar, and malaria from the country.” This was stated by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister in his closing remarks as the two-day long Swasthya Chintan Shivir drew to a close in Dehradun today.

The Swasthya Chintan Shivir saw the participation of Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister of Sikkim, Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Prof. S P Singh Baghel, T S Singh Deo (Deputy Chief Minister, and Health Minister, Chhattisgarh), Brajesh Pathak (Deputy Chief Minister, and Health Minister, Uttar Pradesh), BS Pant (Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sikkim), Vishwas Sarang (State Medical Education Minister, Madhya Pradesh), and K Lakshmi Narayanan (Minister of Public Works, Puducherry). Health Ministers from various states including Dhan Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Smt. Rajini Vidadala (Andhra Pradesh), Alo Libang (Arunachal Pradesh), Keshab Mahanta (Assam), Rushikesh Patel (Gujarat), Banna Gupta (Jharkhand), Dinesh Gundu Rao (Karnataka), Sapam Ranjan Singh (Manipur), Dr. R. Lalthyangliana (Mizoram), Thiru Ma. Subramanian (Tamil Nadu) participated in the brainstorming concluding session.

Senior officials from 36 States and Union Territories were present at the two day conclave.

“Let us design a vision document which will act like a roadmap for the next 25 years of the country’s Amrut Kaal to guide our efforts towards providing the best healthcare to the citizens of our states”, he stated.

He further advised Centre and States to work together to create futuristic health policies for the country. He encouraged states to hold their own Chintan Shivir, where localized solutions can be arrived at as per their specific healthcare needs and priorities. He also stressed the need to include the aspirations, and ideas of the newer generations in policy formulation in healthcare, to make it more inclusive.

SP Singh Baghel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare at the closing ceremony said, “These two days saw open dialogue across states, and I believe that these deliberations can lead to strong outcomes in healthcare provisioning in the country.”

On the last day of this two-day event, sessions were held on various facets of healthcare in India today ranging from status of medical education, to the National Tuberculosis Elimination Mission, District Residency Programme, and Ayushman Bhav.

VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, Sudhansh Pant, Officer on Special Duty, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH, Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research, senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and States, as well as leaders from industry bodies were present during the event.

Source: PIB