A call to return and help heal the Motherland

India’s Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has urged several hundred physicians of Indian origin from around the world to invest their talents in their motherland and return to help healthcare in India.

Speaking at the 11th annual Global Healthcare Summit of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), Naidu asked an estimated 1,000 doctors to “rededicate their lives” to help make quality health care accessible and affordable in India.

“I would be happier if you people can come back to India and do something to help the society. Earlier, the opportunity was very less here so people went to different parts of the globe for work. But now everything is available in India,” Naidu said at the gathering, which was held in Kolkata from Dec. 28-31. “Apart from conducting CMEs (continuing medical education), seminars and workshops, AAPI must consider collaborating with various governments and other private organizations in establishing a state-of-the-art healthcare facility in each district of the country where affordable treatment is dispensed,” he said.

The conference theme was “Healthcare, Career and Commerce” with a focus on women’s healthcare, including high priority areas such as diabetes, oncology, cardiology, maternal and child health and mental health. Naidu praised the doctors’ work for bringing healthcare to people around the world. “It is indeed a laudable objective as both accessibility and affordability are the need of the hour, especially in a vast developing country like India with a huge population of middle class and lower middle class,” Naidu said.

The conference was organized in partnership with the ministry of overseas Indian affairs and ministry of health and family welfare, along with collaboration with over 15 professional associations globally. Attendees focused on sharing best practices, developing efficient and cost-effective solutions for India.

Other attendees included West Bengal Gov. Keshri Nath Tripathi, State Minister for Urban Development Firhad Hakim and other dignitaries, including Dr. Chandan K. Sen, chairman, AAPI Global Healthcare Summit, Kolkata, AAPI president Dr. Gautam Samadder, Dr. Naresh Parikh, president-elect of AAPI, Dr. Madhu Aggarwal, chairwoman of AAPI Charitable Foundation, Dr. Sampat Shivangi, chair of AAPI’s Legislative Committee, Anwar Feroz, AAPI’s strategic adviser and Sudhanshu Pandey, joint secretary in the Indian government’s department of commerce.

AAPI stressed that its objective to make quality and affordable healthcare accessible in India was not just a theoretical goal but a doable target: The organization launched an AAPI-sponsored health clinic in the suburbs of Kolkata. In collaboration with the Rotary Club of Madhyamgram Metropolitan, the AAPI clinic offered medical care for people of the region at the Prajapati Bhavan, Basunagar, Madhyamgram in the outskirts of Kolkata on Dec. 29. More than 30 physicians of Indian origin, led by Samadder and Madhu Aggarwal, attended the free one-day healthcare clinic and treated more than 200 patients.

“This is the first-ever clinic sponsored by AAPI in the state of West Bengal and this is the 15th across the nation,” Samadder said at a welcome reception organized by the local Rotary Club in honor of the physicians. “AAPI provides financial assistance and medical care by AAPI members to the people of this historic city.”

The summit featured some of the biggest names in the healthcare industry, especially at the sixth annual CEO leadership forum with leaders from across the globe. More than 100 opinion leaders and expert speakers presented cutting-edge scientific findings related to clinical practice.

Samadder said the highlights included training sessions for first responders, a CEO forum by a galaxy of executives from around the world, CMEs, cultural events, a dinner cruise on the Ganges, interactive roundtables, clinical practice workshops, a scientific poster/research session and meet-the-expert sessions. There was also a women’s forum, a special session on public-private partnership and a town hall session that resulted in a white paper on helping create policies benefitting the people of India. Dr. Chandan K. Sen said Americans with Indian heritage are uniquely positioned to enrich the U.S. as well as India through collaborative efforts utilizing the strengths unique to each of the two countries. “I welcome you to Kolkata, where intellectual curiosity is woven deep into the fabric of its society,” he said.

According to Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, secretary of AAPI, the summit’s scientific program was developed by leading experts with input from an advisory board and international scientific committee.

AAPI has been strategically engaged in working with the union and state governments of India for the past 10 years and has collaborated with more than 35 professional medical associations, pharmaceutical and medical device companies to address the health care challenges of a rapidly developing India.

“We as physicians can give suggestions and make recommendations, but it is for the government to decide whether to accept and implement them,” Samadder told India Abroad before the Kolkata global summit when asked if India’s officials would act on AAPI’s various healthcare suggestions. India has fewer than one doctor for every 1,000 people — the World Health Organization’s standard ratio —according to news reports quoting the Medical Council of India. According to the council around 1.22 million allopathic doctors are registered with the state medical councils or Medical Council of India as of March 31, 2017. Assuming 80 percent of them are available, it is estimated that India’s doctor-population ratio is approximately of 0.62 per 1,000 as per current population which is estimated to be around 1.33 billion.

The summit also hosted a young innovators’ research competition at Calcutta Medical College. The event helped facilitate dissemination and exchange of best practices among the upcoming young physicians of Indian origin. Winners in various categories were presented citations, cash awards and trophies.

Unique to the summit was a session on the impact of cinema on public health and awareness. This featured a live conversation with Bollywood stars and producers, including Bengali directors Shekar Das and Dipankar Banerjee, who shared their personal experiences of making movies on social themes and imparting education on various social topics. The Women’s Leadership Forum featured Bollywood star Sharmila Tagore and addressed the issue of how empowering and educating women will help reduce infant mortality.

The Healthcare Forum was addressed by Samadder; Jayshree Mehta of Medical Council of India; Dr. Sanku Rao of GAPIO; Dr. Girdhar Gyani of Hospital Association of India; Dr. B. R. Shetty; Dr. Sangita Reddy; Dr. D. C. Shah of IPA and Jonathan Ward of the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata.

AAPI delegates earlier enjoyed a visit to Dubai and the kingdom of Abu Dhabi from Dec. 24-27. They were greeted by the local high-ranking officials, who have expressed interest in collaborating with the physicians of Indian origin in the Gulf region. The delegates also visited NMC Hospital, Abu Dhabi, founded by Dr. B.R. Shetty, its chairman.

AAPI is one of the largest healthcare forums in the U.S. enabling Indian-American physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs. AAPI-Charitable Foundation is committed to serve the poorest of the poor in remote areas of both India and the U.S. These summits are aimed at sharing of expertise towards improvement of healthcare in the U.S. as well as in India.

“It is the passion, willingness and staunch loyalty towards the former motherland that draws several AAPI members to join this effort and by working with experts in India, AAPI is able to bring solutions that are India-centric and takes us closer to our lofty vision of making quality healthcare affordable and accessible to all people of India,” said Samadder. “With the changing trends and statistics in healthcare, both in India and the U.S., we are refocusing our mission and vision and AAPI would like to make a positive meaningful impact on the healthcare delivery system both in the U.S. and in India.”