Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday described health and education as twins and underlined the need to nurture the two for the country's present and future well-being.
He said healthcare is one of the most important pillars of nation-building and called for collective effort and greater public- private partnership to ensure its infrastructure expansion in the country. Addressing an event organised by an industry body, he noted that Indian healthcare demands are of a great scale and diversity.
Dhankhar called for greater collaboration between all stakeholders to achieve the "collective dream of universal healthcare". Referring to the government's initiative in positioning India as a global hub for medical and wellness tourism through the 'Heal in India' initiative, the vice president called for redoubling efforts to utilise India's potential to become a prime health tourism destination.
Recalling India's experience with the Covid pandemic, Dhankhar paid tributes to the healthcare workers and scientists for their contributions and said India has not only vaccinated its citizens in a short period, but also exported vaccines to many nations.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the healthcare sector, India has registered a significant decline in health indicators such as the 'Infant Mortality Rate' since 1990 and is on course to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets, he said.
Referring to 'Ayushman Bharat', Dhankhar said the scheme has been instrumental in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of accessibility of healthcare services in the country.
Stressing that healthcare is one of the most important pillars of nation-building, the vice president said "health and education are twins that need to be well looked after and nurtured for our present and future wellbeing".
(With PTI inputs)
