New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical
Research is working on nearly 75 new research technologies, of
which 20 will be ready for application in various areas of
patient care and public health in one year.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad
stated this here today while calling for establishment of
independent research units and specialised centres in medical
colleges and other healthcare institutions to help create
health research infrastructure uniformly across the country.
The Minister was delivering his address at the closing
function of the centenary celebrations of the Indian Council
of Medical Research (ICMR).
Azad said the government would extend full support to ICMR
for setting up advance research centres of excellence in areas
like transplant immunology, social behavioural research, oral
health, bone health, mental health, clinical pharmacology and
policy research.
Lauding ICMR's drive on translational and implementable
research in the recent past, Azad said he was looking forward
to the accessible strip for diagnosis of diabetes to be
developed through ICMR research at one-sixth the current cost,
which will help to roll out early screening programme across
the country from March next year.
Expressing concern over lack of adequate attention on
gender related issues on health care, Azad said, "Health
problems of women and children need to be better understood
and our public health strategies appropriately modified to
address them."
Azad also expressed satisfaction that ICMR is developing
laboratories to strengthen the nation's capability to deal
with highly infectious diseases.
Concerned over the large number of deaths due to childhood
diarrhoea and pneumonia, besides such fevers whose causes
remain "undetermined", the minister called upon ICMR to create
special research initiatives to investigate these problems and
suggest concrete remedial measures.
He also said that the techniques and reagents being
developed today will help in better diagnosis of several
communicable and non-communicable diseases, which, in turn,
will further help in better control of vector-borne diseases.
Azad also called upon the industry to partner with ICMR in
taking these technologies to the people for fulfilling the
dream of affordable health care.
He also lauded ICMR's special drive to develop projects in
medical colleges in the periphery, strengthen fellowship
programmes and increase research focus on mental health as
well as new areas of molecular medicine and stem cells.
"I expect that this drive will continue with increased
stress on non-communicable diseases, especially diabetes,
hypertension, stroke and cancer," he said.
Earlier, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare
Sudip Bandhopadhyay called for accelerating and fine-tuning
research as per current requirements and hoped new drugs will
be developed for chronic diseases and new medicines for drug
resistant diseases. He also asked ICMR to bring out a magazine
for the common man to list its new medicinal research.
Member of Planning Commission Syeda Hameed and ICMR
director general and Secretary Health Research VM Katoch also
spoke on the occasion. Azad also released a set of two
commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 5 denomination on the
ICMR's centenary celebrations. A set of books on research by
various ICMR institutes was also released.
PTI
Azad also expressed satisfaction that ICMR is developing
laboratories to strengthen the nation's capability to deal
with highly infectious diseases.
Concerned over the large number of deaths due to childhood
diarrhoea and pneumonia, besides such fevers whose causes
remain "undetermined", the minister called upon ICMR to create
special research initiatives to investigate these problems and
suggest concrete remedial measures.
He also said that the techniques and reagents being
developed today will help in better diagnosis of several
communicable and non-communicable diseases, which, in turn,
will further help in better control of vector-borne diseases.
Azad also called upon the industry to partner with ICMR in
taking these technologies to the people for fulfilling the
dream of affordable health care.
He also lauded ICMR's special drive to develop projects in
medical colleges in the periphery, strengthen fellowship
programmes and increase research focus on mental health as
well as new areas of molecular medicine and stem cells.
"I expect that this drive will continue with increased
stress on non-communicable diseases, especially diabetes,
hypertension, stroke and cancer," he said.
Earlier, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare
Sudip Bandhopadhyay called for accelerating and fine-tuning
research as per current requirements and hoped new drugs will
be developed for chronic diseases and new medicines for drug
resistant diseases. He also asked ICMR to bring out a magazine
for the common man to list its new medicinal research.
Member of Planning Commission Syeda Hameed and ICMR
director general and Secretary Health Research VM Katoch also
spoke on the occasion. Azad also released a set of two
commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 5 denomination on the
ICMR's centenary celebrations. A set of books on research by
various ICMR institutes was also released.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 20:02