Pune, Sep 05: As part of the year-long platinum jubilee celebrations of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also a known Diabetologist and Professor of Medicine, on Tuesday launched the Association of Physicians of India (API) Chapter of AFMC, Pune. He also inaugurated and addressed the first annual conference of API-AFMS Continuing Medical Education (CME) on “Emerging trends in the practice of Medicine”.
Describing AFMC, Pune as the first Central Government institute of Medical Education established in 1948 much before the AIIMS, Delhi came into being, Dr Jitendra said the idea of a separate AFMC came from none other than Dr BC Roy, who is also credited with nurturing the API. “As a common legacy, the coming together of API and AFMC also has a historical value and marks a befitting tribute to the first-generation physician, Dr BC Roy,” he said.
In his inaugural address at the conference, Dr Singh said the age of working in silos is over and during the nine years of governance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, conscious efforts have been made to integrate different organs of the government including ministries and departments with various associations, institutes of higher and specialized learning and the Industry, particularly in the Healthcare sector.
He said new tools of diagnosis and therapeutic medicine require a holistic and “Whole of Science” approach for desired optimum results.
Thanking PM Modi for bringing ‘Preventive Healthcare’ into focus in the country for the first time, Dr Jitendra Singh said that in a country with 70% population below the age of 40 and the youth of today are going to be the prime citizens of India@2047. “Preventive healthcare and widespread mass screening will help India attain the status of a Developed Economy. The whole world recognised India’s leadership role during COVID-19, as it achieved the rare feat of delivering over 220 crore vaccinations through a fully digital platform – COWIN and the process continues. Under the leadership of PM Modi, in just a span of two years, India could produce two DNA vaccines and one nasal vaccine,” he said.
The union minister said there has been a transition over the entire disease spectrum as well as the evolution of therapeutic and preventive modalities available to us over the last half a century or so.
He said the MoU between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology and Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), Ministry of Defence envisages to build research collaborations in biomedical sciences and also promotes scientific cooperation through faculty exchange programmes.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the MoU is yet another step towards the “Whole of Government” vision as laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the integration of schemes and ideas, breaking silos between ministries and departments.
