'Accept Challenges, Develope Quality Services'

Students must try to accept challenges in developing quality services and make those available to rural areas, according to ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair.

At the 11th convocation of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) on Thursday, Nair said India's literacy rate has increased to over 65% after independence. "But we still have a long way to go in educating people, especially women. It's proven that population growth is related to illiteracy among women, particularly in rural areas. Education is the backbone of any society," he explained.

"Despite advances in various fields, rural health care needs a boost. Many good doctors are confined to the metros, so are most speciality hospitals. We should take health care to rural areas so that it benefits those living in villages."

`1 doctor for 2,000 patients'

He said there is only one doctor for 2,000 patients and the number of hospital beds to the entire population is about 1.1 beds (average). "We need to invest in medical facilities. Private investment meets 75% of health care demands in India. With nearly 300 million people living below poverty line, we need innovative methods to bring medical care within their reach," he explained.

Genetic medicine

Nair feels advances in genetic medicine will follow soon. Breakthroughs in this area will allow diseases to be diagnosed much earlier, before they even show any symptom.

"With such detection capability, one can take preventive therapies to stop progression of the illness or slow it," he explained.

Source