Top ethnic medical body meet to focus on India’s healthcare delivery needs.
The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) plans to hold the 14th edition of its annual Global Healthcare Summit in India with focus on the country’s healthcare needs.
To be held in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state from January 1 to 3 next year, GHS 2021 will be India-centric with emphasis on Hepatitis Eradication, AAPI President-Elect Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda said.
It will also focus on “India’s contributions for a cost-effective healthcare delivery, serving the many healthcare needs of our motherland, India,” he said at a kick off event in Visakhapatnam this week.
Jonnalagadda, who will assume charge at AAPI convention in Chicago in July this year, also highlighted the numerous achievements of the past 13 GHS held across India, according to an AAPI press release.
“In the past dozen years, by organizing GHS in India, AAPI has made significant contributions, seeking to address several issues affecting the healthcare system in India,” said current AAPI President Dr. Suresh Reddy.
AAPI has been working with the Indian Government and several local organizations, helping with the issue of traumatic brain injury and raising the importance and awareness on smoking cessation, he said.
AAPI initiatives included providing CPR-AED training to First Responders, rural development through Sewak Program, Adopt a Village program and steps to make quality healthcare accessible universally from village to district levels.
Most recently AAPI through GHS made a strong collaborative effort on making India TB Free with the signing of an MoU with USAID, Reddy noted.
“With the changing trends and statistics in healthcare, both in India and US, we are refocusing our mission and vision,” said Dr. Seema Arora, Chair of the AAPI Board of Trustees. “AAPI would like to make a positive meaningful impact on the healthcare delivery system both in the US and in India,”
AAPI, the largest ethnic medical association in the US, is organizing GHS 2021 in collaboration with several professional medical associations, academic institutions, and the Indian Government.
A visiting AAPI delegation led by Jonnalagadda invited Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy to be the Chief Guest at the Global Healthcare Summit.
Expressing his appreciation to AAPI for bringing the global event to Andhra Pradesh, Reddy assured all support to AAPI for organizing a highly successful GHS in Visakhapatnam.
“One in seven Americans is touched by a physician of Indian origin,” said AAPI Secretary Dr. Ravi Kolli. “There is an equally large percentage of medical residents, fellows and students in the USA serving millions of Americans.”
Packed with strategic planning sessions GHS 2021 is expected to go a long way towards harnessing the power of international Indian diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost effective healthcare solutions to India, AAPI release said.
Calling upon AAPI members to join in this historic journey, Reddy asked them to “help ensure that we are putting in solid efforts towards making quality healthcare affordable and accessible to all people of India.”
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