India cannot become another Africa: Union Health Minister commends Church’s healthcare services

New Delhi – The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss has heaped praises on the Catholic Church of India for its healthcare services and in particular, its efforts towards rehabilitating and assisting AIDS victims.

“Christian community has done the utmost, serving in the remotest of the remote places,” said the Health Minister, while releasing the Revised Health Care Policy of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) on August 31 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. “You are doing a wonderful work. After the government, yours is the biggest service for the care of AIDS affected.”

The Health Care Policy, which was prepared by the CBCI Commission for Health Care headed by the Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore and a team of experts in the field, was approved by the CBCI Standing Committee during its meeting in April 2005. It is the outcome of extensive consultation at the national level as well as among representatives involved in health care in all the 12 ecclesiastical regions held under the patronage of the bishops in–charge of health care in the regions. Various health and development organizations such as USAID and Futures Group collaborated to give the Policy its final form.

“I am grateful for the excellent education I received from the catholic institutions during the formative years. Now I am happy to see the Church launching into serving the HIV/AIDS affected people,” Dr. Ramadoss said, noting that while it is relatively easy to organize healthcare initiatives in major cities, Catholic officials have been "showing the way" in providing medical attention to "remote and far–flung areas" in northern and eastern India.

Expressing his concerns over the growing number of HIV/AIDS affected cases in the nation and that India is second only to South Africa, in number of people affected by the fatal disease, Dr. Ramadoss continued, “India cannot afford to be another Africa. India cannot afford to lose its young. If we lose the youth, who will work for us?”

Complimenting the CBCI its timely initiative, Dr. Ramadoss urged the Church to redouble its efforts by effectively using its vast network of schools and healthcare institutions to “promote preventive healthcare education.”

Dr. Ramadoss stressed on the need of India moving from treating people affected by communicable diseases to preventing non–communicable diseases such as diabetes, mental illness etc.

The health minister urged the faith–based communities to make blood–banks and promote safety in blood transfusion and fight the menace of drug abuse.

Laying great emphasis on imparting public health education through a healthy life style, promotion of yoga and wholesome behaviour among the youth, Dr. Ramadoss solicited the cooperation of the Church’s healthcare workers to participate in the Rural Health Mission launched by the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

“You have full cooperation from the government in your healthcare services,” he assured the Church.

Complimenting the CBCI for taking the lead in formulating a detailed HIV/AIDS Policy and showing the way for others, the Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Mr. Oscar Fernandes, said, “When everybody tried to keep the leprosy patients away, it the Catholic Church which tried to keep them inside already for over a 100 years through its leprosaria.”

While releasing the HIV/AIDS Policy of the CBCI, Mr. Fernandes urged the Church to effectively utilise its vast network of educational and health care institutions to sensitise people on “preventive and promotive health care, and fight the AIDS pandemic head–on.”

During the function, Minister of State for Health, Ms. Panabaka Laxmi released the book “The Nurse” authored by a well known writer Fr. R.H. Lesser and USAID Director Mr. George Dekun released “Streams of Compassion.”

Earlier, CBCI president and archbishop of Ranchi, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo launched the two policies by lighting the traditional oil lamp. The Chairman of the CBCI Commission for HealthCare, Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore, welcomed the gathering and Executive Secretary of the Commission Fr. Alex Vadakunthala presented the salient features of the revised health care Policies.

The programme was attended among others by Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Agra, Bishop Thomas Dabre of Vasai, Bishop Ignatius Menezes of Ajmer, Bishop Frederick D’Souza of Jhansi, Bishop Isidore Fernandes of Allahabad, Bishop Francis Kallarackal of Kottapuram, Bishop Stephen Rathluanga of Aizwal and Auxiliary Bishop of Madras–Mylapore Lawrence Dorairaj.

In its newly launched Health and HIV/AIDS Policies, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) said it would address the HIV/AIDS issue as a mainstream developmental issue.

However, the Church refused to deviate from its age–old conservative stand against use of contraceptives, which prevents it from promoting condom supply and usage. But the new Policy strictly said Catholic run health institutions should not show any kind of discrimination against HIV affected people.

"Help will be extended to sex workers to find alternative means of income through skill development, income generation programmes and micro–credit so that women are not forced to continue in this situation due to economic need," the new Policy said.

The Church also emphasised youth–friendly, youth–focussed programmes and services, as people between the ages of 15 and 29 account for one third of the AIDS cases in India.

Christians, who comprises only 2.3 percent of the country's population, are the second largest provider of healthcare facilities after the government.