“Digital Health can be Revolutionary for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in India and Beyond.” Said Hon’ble Governor of Rajasthan while inaugurating 25th edition of IIHMR University’s Annual Global Conference PRADANYA 2021 on theme ‘Digital Health, Sustainable Development and Wellbeing’, scheduled during 3-5 February 2021. In his online address to the conference delegates from more than 10 countries, the Hon’ble Governor stressed on need for making healthcare affordable and quality focused.
Mentioning the Digital Health Mission of the Government of India in leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Hon’ble Governor said, “India is on path of sustainable development, which can be further strengthened through appropriate research focused health care management initiatives involving appropriate use of right technology.” Commending the efforts of the university to organize an international event on such an important theme, the Hon’ble Governor mentioned about the need for continuous improvement in healthcare services through continuous efforts in research and education in the field.
Speaking as Guest of Honour, the former Director of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru Padma Vibhushan Prof. G. P. Padmanabhan stressed on the need for technology-driven innovations in improving the healthcare scenario in the country. Prof. Padmanabhan said that the development efforts can only bring good results in a healthy country. He also explained how health care using Artificial Intelligence could lead to individualized care. The Keynote Speaker of the Conference Inaugural Session Padma Shri Dr. Chandrakant S. Pandav, Former Professor and Head, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi emphasized on the different aspects of technology-driven healthcare management for achieving the larger development goals. Linking the digital health to community wellbeing and sustainability, Dr. Pandav presented the different examples of how digital health and sustainability are linked to each-other. He further emphasized on effective healthcare which involves all the dimensions including psychological, economic and physical. The Chairperson of IIHMR University and globally renowned public health expert Dr. S.D. Gupta highted the role of emerging technologies in making healthcare affordable and reachable to masses. Dr. Gupta highlighted the future technology-driven scenario of public health in India.
During starting of the programme, President of IIHMR university, Dr. Prahlad Rai Sodani welcomed all the Hon’ble Governor and all the guests in the Conference. Dr. Sodani elaborated on the objectives of the 3-day international conference and shared the broader theme. In his welcome address, Dr. Sodani said, “The next decade is going to witness significant growth in Digital Health solutions. Realizing the need for integrating the digital health to sustainable development, the university has initiated this dialogue as a continuous process for the future knowledge exchange on the theme.” The conference inauguration was done by online lighting of the lamp. The session was moderated by Organizing Secretary, Prof. Shiv K. Tripathi.
