‘Need inclusive healthcare facilities in rural areas’

There is a need for inclusive and gender sensitive healthcare, especially in rural and marginalized communities. This was stated by Mallika Nadda, chairperson of Special Olympics Bharat in Delhi on Tuesday.

She was speaking at a round table conference held by Mahajan Imaging and Labs on urgent action on women-centric testing, inadequacies in rural and semi-urban India.

“Healthcare equality begins with ensuring that every individual, especially women and persons with disabilities, have easy access to preventive care without hesitation or stigma.” she said.

Nadda urged women across India to prioritise their health by attending regular check-ups and preventive healthcare programmes. “True progress comes from building a healthy nation.”

She also stressed that there was a difference in health awareness among rural and urban youth. “The younger generation in cities are more aware of the health concerns. While rural young population, especially girls, go through several mental and health concerns that they are not aware about.”

While emphasising on the need for early detection and community advocacy, Gunjita Dhawan, a cancer survivor said, “I sincerely appeal to all men and women to get their health checked regularly as early detection leads to better quality of life. Cancer survivors have the power to influence others and encourage proactive health screening.”

Dr Neerja Bhatla, gynaecologist and oncosurgeon, former head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, AIIMS, also added that that early screening and diagnosis were important to reduce the burden of these diseases. “We need to bring about behavioural changes to empower women to focus on their health. For this, media can play an important role in educating men and women according to their socio-economic status.”

Ex-Indian cricketer Kapil Dev said everyone should do physical activities to curtail these diseases. “As a sportsperson, I can advise everyone to go to the parks or wherever they can one should do walks for at least half-an-hour.