Mumbai, January 29, 2017
· It is privileged to be with you all on the occasion of Platinum Jubilee Conference of Tata Memorial Centre and hope that it is the beginning of a new journey towards healthier individuals, society and nation.
· The conference ‘Healthcare: Commodity or basic human need’ is uniquely relevant in the current context given the high cost of modern health care interventions and the enormous market and peer pressure to adopt them versus a basic necessity for survival.
· The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is implementing a number of schemes, programmes and national initiatives to expand the reach and increase access to quality healthcare.
· India is projected to nearly achieve the MDG 4 and 5 while the MDG 6 goal to reverse the incidence of Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS has already been achieved. What is perhaps noteworthy is that India’s Under-five Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio declined at a higher pace than global average. There has been a significant decline in Total Fertility Rate (TFR).
· It is our endeavour to ensure that all persons have access to quality health care; however, a lot more needs to be done for achieving universal access to equitable, affordable and quality healthcare services.
· Our country faces twin burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
· The socioeconomic impacts of NCDs are thus that it attenuates our progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
· Cancer control is a major challenge for all of us.
· The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is implementing a number of schemes, programmes and national initiatives to expand the reach and increase access to quality healthcare.
· National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), is being implemented to supplement the efforts of the State Governments for improving healthcare including prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Cancer. Government has also approved a scheme for enhancing the Tertiary Care Cancer facilities in the country under NPCDCS.
· The treatment of Cancer is either free or subsidized in the Government Institutions. Financial assistance to poor patients is also provided under Health Minister’s Discretionary Grant (HMDG), Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) within the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi.
· Government of India is committed for the protection and cure of its people from cancer. I appeal to all of you to join hands in spreading awareness against cancer and work towards a healthy India.
· Special thanks to the Mumbai Declaration team for recommending implementable action points for improving healthcare delivery in India in particular and the world at large