Private healthcare initiatives invited for Northeast
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today invited private healthcare initiatives for Northeast and offered to support the corporate chain hospitals which were ready to set up their establishments in the region. He was addressing the inaugural session of the 3-day Diabetes Conference being attended by some of the eminent national faculty in Agartala on Saturday. The Health Minister of Tripura, Shri Badal Choudhury and the President of Bangladesh Diabetes Association, Dr. A K Azad Khan were present on the occasion.
Expressing concern over the Diabetes upsurge in the entire Northeast region including the State of Tripura, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, Northeast was among such parts of country which, till a few years ago, recorded a much lower prevalence of diabetes and therefore, proactive strategies were required to combat this epidemic, lest it should adversely affect the youth vitality and potential because of its increasing spread among the younger age groups. The medical colleges in the State, he said, were suffering from inadequate faculty which led to exodus of both patients as well as aspiring medicos to other parts of country.
Referring to his meetings with the Chief Minister, Shri Manik Sarkar and the Chief Secretary, Shri Yashpal Singh on the first day of his visit yesterday, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, he had strongly advocated PPP (Private Public Participation) at a large scale in different sectors including the health sector. He also suggested the involvement of medical and healthcare professionals in the decision making mechanism of government.
The Modi government, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, was open to new ideas and innovations and therefore, the State can expect all kinds of support from the Centre for any initiative which is constructive and in public interest.
