Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha P.J. Kurien on Thursday advocated a coordinated approach to ensure that health care facilities are within the reach of every common man in the country.
Delivering the graduation address at the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Prof. Kurien said, “a good number of our children remain outside the protective cover of immunisation.
Similarly, many pregnant women in our country do not get the mandatory three check-ups during their pregnancy. It is, therefore, imperative that the government, society and the medical fraternity work together to ensure that the best healthcare facilities are in the reach of every common man in the country’’.
Dr.Kurien also said India has the largest number of medical colleges in the world (more than 380) and their intake at the MBBS level is almost 65,000 students annually.
“We can also rejoice at the fact that we have a good number of top class medical institutions and hospitals in our country which not only cater for our own people but also attract a large number of ‘medical tourists’, thereby bringing precious foreign exchange also. However, this is no reason to be complacent when we see that a large section of our population still has limited access to minimum basic healthcare facilities."
Chairman of PIMS K. Jacob; Director-Principal of the College, Dr. John Abraham and faculty were present on the occasion.
