Guwahati, Sep 6 (PTI) Asserting that India’s performance in the healthcare sector was “outstanding” in the last decade due to the exemplary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President CP Radhakrishnan on Sunday said Assam’s maternal mortality ratio has now declined below the national average, calling the state’s achievement a “milestone”.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS) here, he said days are near when people visit the state for treatment.
Radhakrishnan also urged graduating healthcare professionals in Assam to combine compassion with scientific excellence and dedicate themselves to the service of humanity.
The vice president highlighted the transformation of India’s healthcare sector under the leadership of PM Modi, referring to initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat.
“The last decade of health sciences in India has been outstanding due to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
Radhakrishnan noted that more than 44 crore Ayushman cards have been issued and recalled that the public healthcare scheme has helped poor and middle-class families save an estimated Rs 2 lakh crore in medical expenses.
The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is the world’s largest public healthcare programme that aims at providing health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh to each eligible household annually.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, India was the only country that gave vaccines free of cost. Not only did it give vaccines to its 140 crore people, but it also exported them to over 100 countries freely. That is why immunity was saved,” the vice president added.
On Assam’s healthcare scenario, Radhakrishnan said that for the first time, the state’s MMR has decreased below the national average, calling it a “milestone”.
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is a key healthcare indicator and is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.
He congratulated Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Assam government for strengthening healthcare infrastructure, and said that the changing healthcare landscape is enabling patients from outside the state to increasingly seek advanced treatment in Guwahati.
“Assam is creating a day when people will come to the state for treatment, as they go to other parts of India,” he said, referring to the upcoming Proton Beam Therapy Unit under the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital for cancer treatment.
The vice president urged the graduating healthcare professionals to uphold compassion, ethics and scientific excellence, and dedicate their knowledge and skills to the service of humanity.
Presenting the Dr John Berry White Award for three years from 2023, the VP also advised medical students and graduating youths not to spend much time on social media and to stay away from substance abuse.
He led the gathering to pledge against consuming drugs.
Radhakrishnan said that young healthcare professionals have a crucial role in advancing the vision of a developed and healthy India, and wished the graduating students success in their future endeavours.
Radhakrishnan said the university, named after Mahapurush Srimanta Sankaradeva, has emerged as an important institution for health sciences education, research and public health.
He appreciated its efforts to promote medical knowledge in local languages, including publication of an Anglo-Assamese dictionary of medical science and medical textbooks in Assamese.
Highlighting Assam’s healthcare progress, Radhakrishnan said the number of medical colleges in the state has more than doubled from seven in 2021 to 15, with another nine under construction.
The convocation was attended by Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, the chief minister, Medical Education & Research Minister Ashok Singhal, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, Chief Secretary Ravi Kota, SSUHS Vice Chancellor Anup Kumar Barman, among others. PTI TR TR BDC
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