Centre, states must invest more in healthcare: Venkaiah Naidu

Kolkata : Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has urged the Centre and state governments to invest more in the healthcare sector and educate people to get health insurance.

Stating that providing proper medical service is the need of the hour, Naidu on Saturday said private sector investments and public-private Partnership (PPP) model should be encouraged more for the betterment of healthcare in the country.

"The central and the state government must together spend more in the health sector. Also people should be educated about getting health insurance. Many people in India are worried about the cost but health insurance is very much required," Naidu said at the 11th Global Healthcare Summit organised by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) here.

"We must all focus more on the service. The medical service in India is the need of the hour. India is still lagging behind in spite of a lot of advancement in medication. The centre is encouraging private sector in the medical healthcare sector. We must also go with the PPP model," he added.

Claiming that India has the potential to become a medical tourist centre in the future, the Vice President said accessibility and affordability of healthcare should be ensured as a large section of the country's population belongs to the middle and lower-middle class.

Naidu claimed that the modern day lifestyle is creating a lot of health problems and stressed the need to raise awareness about its adverse effects among the people.

"The modern day lifestyle is creating serious health hazards. The doctors should indicate the people to go back to their cultural roots and follow the disciplined, systematic lifestyle. Diabetes is a major challenge faced in the country," he said.

He also urged the Indian medical practitioners staying abroad to come back to the country and help the society as all the opportunities are now available here.

"I would be happier if you people can come back to India and do something to help the society. Earlier the opportunity was very less here so people went to different parts of the globe for work. But now everything is available in India." Naidu added.

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