Two recent events in the capital have brought national medical services under focus. In one event, the Prime Minister summed up some of the achievements country has made in the area of improving health services and providing better health facilities to the people. In second event, the Union Health and Family Planning Minister has spoken about his ministry taking the initiative of maximally popularizing traditional and indigenous Indian medical system. Put together, it paints an encouraging picture of what has been achieved in the area of health services and what are the new targets before the Government.
In his speech, delivered on the occasion of foundation stone laying ceremony of re-development of Lady Harding Medical College in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said that in the 12th Five Year Plan, allocations for medical services were three times more than the allocations in 11th Plan. New social determinants of health are to be witnessed in the areas of nutrition and sanitation, which include initiatives like safe drinking water, sanitation, housing , medical education especially of girls etc. The Government has before it a major urban health initiative during the 12th Plan which will go a long way in providing medical support to the vast urban population in the country. However, there are many areas in the realm of health services that need to be streamlined despite good deal of progress that the country has made so far. Setting up of National Institute of Para-Medial Sciences at Delhi and its eight branches in different cities of the country during the 12th Plan would be a major breakthrough in overcoming the shortages that exist at the moment. The Prime Minister had a word of appreciation for the Union Minister of Health and Family Planning. Owing to his efforts the total number of MBBS seats in the country has gone up by 30 per cent and for Post Graduate studies by 51 per cent… It is no small a thing to have added 61 new medical colleges to the existing 362 throughout the country and adding new 269 nursing schools. Neither the issue of volume and quality of faculties in medical colleges nor that of child mortality escaped the sight of the Prime Minister. Keeping the size of population of our country in mind, we are deficient of medical professionals and faculties. He was candid in saying that although in comparison to 11th Plan, the country has been able to bring down child morality, yet from international standards much remains to be done in this field.
This apart, in another function in which the Union Health and Family Planning Minister, Azad inaugurated a new building that would house the Department of AYUSH, he made a welcome announcement that we in India need to popularize the healing nature of home-grown and traditional medicines like ayurveda and unani medical practices. Although the benefits of allopathic medicines are known to all, yet our awareness and practice of indigenous theories is shoddy. To bridge this gap, Union Health Ministry will propagate the benefits of ayurveda, siddha, unani and yoga forms of medicine and how they can provide treatment to several diseases without any side effects. The Ministry intends to reserve slots in electronic media for this propagation campaign. It will be reminded that India has the credit of having the oldest standardized medical theory in Ayurveda drawn from Atharva Veda, one of the four Vedas dealing exclusively with theories of medical science including yoga and other practices. The sum and substance of Ayurvedic medical theory is that there has to be a balance between physical and mental well being of a person. In the age of advanced sciences and technology, we find that a large number of people are becoming victims of frustration, tension and imbalanced mind. Undoubtedly there is a need of balancing modern life in a manner that it has the ability to absorb stress and strain and remain in a state of equilibrium. That is essentially what Ayurveda and yoga preach. As such the announcement made by the Union Health Minister that traditional and indigenous medical practices would be given due recognition and propagation is a welcome step.
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