Medical research all set to touch a new high

Model Rural Health Research Unit coming up in Chandragiri

Medical research on locally prevalent ailments and disorders in Tirupati is in for a shot in the arm, with the proposal to establish a Model Rural Health Research Unit (MRHRU) in the region taking shape.

The state-of-the-art facility has been sanctioned to Sri Venkateswara Medical College (SVMC) by the Department of Health Research, functioning under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Coming up in 55 cents of land in the Rural Health Centre campus at Chandragiri, the ambitious facility will be developed at a cost of Rs.2 crore and Rs.1 crore for the equipment. SVMC is one of the two colleges in the entire country to bag the prestigious project, the other being the Government Medical College, Calicut (Kerala).

Maternal mortality, drug abuse, scrub typhus, anaemia, dengue and coronary heart diseases are the preliminary thrust areas identified for research at this premier centre. Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has been roped in as the mentoring agency to nurture this nascent institute.

“The facility will not only inculcate a spirit of research among the medical fraternity, but also offer quality medical services to the people”, SVMC Principal M.S. Sridhar told

The Hindu . The centre will constantly monitor the prevailing health problems and ensure timely dispensation of healthcare services to the affected communities. The Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) will very soon ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the purpose.

It may be recalled here that the SVMC had already bagged a ‘Multi-Disciplinary Research Unit’ in 2013, with extensive focus on non-communicable diseases. Rs.1.5 crore has been sanctioned for the project in the first phase, out of which Rs.1 crore has been spent towards purchase of equipment and the remaining for civil works. The Regional Psychiatric Block at the SVMC has been revamped to host this research unit. Both the projects have been sanctioned by the separate division for health-based research created by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Graphic points

State-of-the-art facility

The unit was sanctioned to Sri Venkateswara Medical College (SVMC) by the Department of Health Research

Maternal mortality, drug abuse, scrub typhus, anaemia, dengue and coronary heart diseases are the preliminary thrust areas identified for research

Hyderabad-based NIN has been roped in as the mentoring agency to nurture this nascent institute

“The facility will not only inculcate a spirit of research among the medical fraternity, but also offer quality medical services to people.”

M.S. Sridhar

SVMC Principal