The Department of Health Research’s state-of-the-art Model Rural Health Research Unit (MRHRU), established on an outlay of Rs.5 crore, was inaugurated on the Kallur Primary Health Centre premises near here on Monday.
Inaugurated by Soumya Swaminathan, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Government of India, the new facility will help a lot in monitoring the health problems prevailing among rural communities and provide effective and timely medical assistance to the affected population through the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.
The Centre has envisioned creation of the MRHRU in the PHCs in rural and backward areas of the country with a focus on capacity building of the peripheral medical colleges.
The MRHRU that has come up at Kallur will provide laboratory support to pursue research under collaborative partnership between the Tirunelveli Medical College (TVMC) and Medical Education and National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai, which would provide the scientific, technical and administrative support for implementing various activities of the MRHRU in this region.
Initially, the Tirunelveli Medical College will be using the facilities of this research laboratory and the Tuticorin and Kanyakumari medical colleges will also start using this laboratory in the near future.
“TVMC faculty, based on experience they gained over the years in treating the patients of this region in a few diseases or disorders, already submitted a few research proposals to the NIE for approval,” said Revathi Balan, Head, Department of Microbiology, TVMCH.
