Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya addressed the concluding session of ‘Swasthya Chintan Shivir’, the 14^th Conference of Central Council of Health & Family Welfare (CCHFW), at Kevadia, Gujarat from 5^th to 7^th May, 2022. He was joined by Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Dr. V.K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog. State Health Ministers, Health Secretaries, State health representatives, representatives from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NITI Ayog, ICMR and Scientists participated in the three-day long conference.

Dr Mandaviya started his address by stating that "Siddhi (accomplishment) is the driving force behind any Sankalp (resolution)." Appreciating the participation of around 25 Health and Medical Education Ministers in the 3-day "Swasthya Chintan Shivir", he said, "we have been enriched by deep insight of knowledge due to presentation of best practices by states. This provided us knowledge regarding effective implementation of government schemes in the health sector." He further stated that “all States have shared one best practice, so now we have more than 25 best practices to learn from and implement across the country. Goals of centre and States are complementary. It is the goal of state which would define policy making at the central level”.

Highlighting the importance of working in the spirit of cooperative federalism, Dr Mandaviya stated that "States goals provide us national goals". “They provide us roadmap for various policies. The Swasthya Shivir has laid foundation of " Healthy Family" for the country. Let's resolve and take a pledge to ensure best implementation of health policies for wellbeing of our citizens to fulfill aim of Antyodaya. The citizen in the last mile should be our priority for delivery of health services", he stated.

The Minister emphasized that “health is not a commerce but a seva for us. We are committed to promote medical tourism and 'Heal by India' and 'Heal in India' are the two vital pillars of our health ecosystem in the years to come which will position India as a global health leader”.

Dr Mandaviya appealed everyone to “join the soon to be launched ‘TB Patient/Village Adoption’ scheme where everyone can adopt TB patients and ensure their well-being, people nourishment, timely diagnosis and prompt treatment”. "This will contribute immensely to our goal of TB-Free India by 2025", he stated

Dr Mandaviya also invited collaboration for the national initiative for clearing backlog of cataract surgery. He urged state ministers to popularise teleconsultation through e-Sanjeevani. “I appeal to all ministers to visit AB HWCs during your district visits and personally supervise this scheme. This has provided quality healthcare services to the community during Covid”, he stated. He further said that “teleconsultation is the future of our health systems and we should work towards promoting it on a large scale as it provides a perfect platform to provide health services to the last mile”.

The Union Minister requested state ministers to popularise and expedite implementation of ABHA- Ayushman Bharat Health Account in the States. “Ayushman Bharat Nation Digital Health Mission is an important scheme to propel India to a digital revolution in the health sector. We should work towards creating an ABHA ID on a war footing. This scheme ensures privacy with service delivery”, he stated.

Dr Mandaviya further informed about Union Ministry's 'Mera Aspatal' portal for feedback of beneficiaries /patients about service delivery at Govt hospitals. "We need to focus on our lifestyle and food too," he highlighted.

Dr Mandaviya informed that this conference has provided sector-based targets for Union and State governments including those for TB-Free India and clearing backlogs of cataract surgeries, noting that "we need Jan Bhagidari for accomplishing health goals,". He also stated that a dedicated campaign would be started to undertake Cataract operations from 1^st June.

He concluded his address by crediting the success of Chintan Shivir to all the teams for their hard work in conceptualizing and implementing it so efficiently. He also thanked all the State health ministers for actively participating in the Shivir. During the 3-day Chintan Shivir at Kevadia, Dr Mandaviya also led the participants for cycle rides, trekking and yoga to promote these healthy lifestyle activities. The Union Health Minister also inaugurated the website of 14^th CCHFW.

Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar noted that “Chintan Shivir provided us the beneficial collaborative platform of collective brainstorming on various aspects of health sector and quality service delivery”. Appreciating the collaborative approach of Centre and States in the fight against COVID19, she complimented the states on reaching the landmark milestone of 190 Cr vaccine doses. “We are committed to make India a ‘Vishwa Guru’ in the health sector”, she stated.

Dr. V.K. Paul stated that “this (Chintan Shivir) will pave the way for developing a blueprint of India’s future health ecosystem”. He thanked the health teams of Centre and States for organizing the Chintan Shivir.

On the third day of the 'Swasthya Chintan Shivir’, 14th Conference of CCHFW, thematic sessions on best practices of States, India's public health response & learnings from the Covid-19, preparing India for future health emergencies, Heal in India and Heal by India, and road map for a healthy India were organized. In order to provide a platform to learn from the experiences of each state, best practices on Health management from various states were shared by the state Health ministers and State representatives. In addition to this, discussions and deliberations on various issues of health and wellness were undertaken. The centre and states reaffirmed their commitment for achieving the pious objective of accessible, affordable and equitable health care for all.

State Health Ministers expressed their happiness on the way the conference was organized in the last three days and thanked the Union Health Minister for conceptualizing and organizing the conference which provided a great learning experience for all.

The objective of the three-day conference is to provide a platform to centre and states to discuss, deliberate and recommend on the future roadmap of the health ecosystem in the country in addition to reviewing the implementation of various Central and State government schemes of health sector.

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HFW/Swasthya Chintan Shivir Concludes/7^thMay2022/4