PRESIDENT OF INDIA ADDRESSES THE GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF MAHATMA GANDHI INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, SEVAGRAM

Rashtrapati Bhavan : 17.08.2019

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed the golden jubilee celebrations of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram, Wardha, Maharashtra today (August 17, 2019).

Addressing the students and faculty members of the institute, the President said that as doctors and medical scholars, they have an important role to play in shaping our society and in ensuring the well-being of our people. We have a vision of creating a New India, an India where each one of us will have a life of dignity and well-being, an India where Bapu’s dream of "wiping every tear from every eye” is fulfilled. And as medical professionals, they have an important role to play in this journey.

The President said that health remains a key development challenge for India. As a country with 18 per cent of world population, we carry 20 per cent of the prevalence of global diseases. We are challenged by the triple burden of communicable, non-communicable and new and emerging diseases. Lack of access to health services, malnutrition and neglected tropical diseases place severe constraints on us. Our Government remains committed to tackle these through the flagship Ayushmaan Bharat programme and other health missions. Our problems are complex and intertwined with our larger socio-economic challenges. He was happy to note that this institute is following a multidisciplinary approach to health – from prevention, wellness, cure, community empowerment to research and innovation. He said that in their efforts to integrate health and community, doctors must also pay heed to alternative therapies enriched by nature and traditional knowledge, and more so, since they serve the rural people who are culturally attuned to such practices.

Earlier, the President visited the Bapu Kuti at Gandhi Sevagram Ashram and planted a chandan sapling there.