Kochi, March 04: Former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Thursday said it was the prime responsibility of medical practitioners to serve the country’s rural populace.
Hardly two per cent of doctors go to villages to practice where 70 per cent of the population is living, half of them below poverty line. This is an anomaly, he said addressing the third batch of MBBS students passing out from the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) here.
Ever increasing population, lack of adequate affordable healthcare facilities, particularly in rural areas, was a matter of serious concern. A large proportion of the population has no access to safe drinking water, he noted.
Open drainage system, improper disposal of waste and industrial effluents and increased migration from rural to urban areas without proper sanitation facilities has aggravated the spread of water-borne diseases, he said.
In India alone there are two million malaria cases reported every year, he said.
Giving thrust to research, he said, adding there is need develop local specific treatments and the findings of developed countries may not be applicable to Indian scenario.
Think globally and act locally is the mantra the young doctors should adopt. Take up research as a tapasaya…for which committed and dedicated work is needed, he said.
-PTI