Healthcare for all & My Vision is to see India a Healthy Country – Dr Harsh Vardhan

Providing healthcare to its citizens in 21st century has become the most daunting task for all nations. Hardly had we scored success in dealing with old and established diseases that we are now confronted with a very complex set of diseases due to changing life styles and environmental factors. According to the W.H.O. constitution “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” What is health? The governments as well as many among us do not work towards keeping health issues high on our agenda as health is taken for granted. ? All religious personalities and leading lights have spoken on health emphasizing its value. Thomas Jefferson once said “There is only one wealth and that is health”. Gandhi Ji always reminded his audience of the value of health and he himself vigorously pursued a disciplined life in pursuit of health. His life is an example that depicts how one could stay healthy by observing simple rules enunciated by our sages. Understanding the factors that undermine health and anticipating the outcomes that would follow given lack of commitment to the health, is an emerging new concept. Our ancestors figured out that physical health can only be reinforced by strengthening psychological and spiritual health. Controlling the mind by sanitizing the thoughts can help us maintain physical body in a healthy state. Healthcare systems in many parts of the world today are in turmoil as concluded by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Emulating American model the governments in many parts of the world are on a privatization spree making healthcare a luxury for vast segments of society. Also, the Governments in developed and developing countries alike are finding it difficult to help attain the goal of ‘Health for all’.

Despite repeated assertions and tall claims about our achievements in the field of health such as a raise in life expectancy (current figure for male is 64 years, and for female 68 years) and elimination of small pox, polio myelitis and so on, the fact is that the health scenario in India continues to remain grim. This is a direct consequence of ignoring health and education ever since independence. The World Health Organization (WHO) admitted in the beginning of 21st Century that healthcare systems in most countries lay in shambles. Widespread poverty and illiteracy (India’s current literacy is pegged at 62% for adults) makes the goal of providing universal healthcare extremely challenging. An educated and literate populace is easy to deal with in matters of health, education and advancing preventive healthcare, which results in higher prevalence of safe motherhood, lower infant mortality and lower birth rate. The characteristics of this poor state of the health of the nation can also be attributed to a poor allocation for health (3.3 per cent in first five years plan, 3 per cent in second plan, and currently it is about 4.1 % of GDP. New Zealand spends 10.1% of its GDP, OECD 9.5% and Nepal 5.5%) despite the ruling government’s acceptance of Bhore Committee report which advocated a 10 per cent allocation for health. The low allocation coupled with neglect of our own indigenous system of medicine as well as preventive, promotional, rehabilitative, and public health and a disproportionate stress on curative and tertiary healthcare, has today left our healthcare system in a blind alley.

Our planners consistently ignored the ancient wisdom which laid enormous stress on hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation. The foundations and principles of modern day healthcare are well enshrined in our scriptures. Thousands of years ago our sages expanded and propagated a holistic vision of health enunciating a concept of health well beyond physical, mental and social wellbeing to embody emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Modern scientists have failed to appreciate that our noble fore-fathers with far less material possessions could generate energy and vitality to protect their physical and mental health by practicing spirituality whereas the people of developed and rich countries today remain highly stressed and in poor health despite much affluence and wealth. This phenomenon of stress has recorded unprecedented growth in last few years in consequence to switch over to a market based economy, which has caused widespread joblessness, reduced social security and an ever-impending fear of securing meaningful employment. I think alleviation of stress is one of the most formidable tasks confronting the healers today and modern medicine’s purely technical and mundane approach will be of little help in this regard.

Our health planners overlooked the age-old Indian wisdom to promote borrowed ideas and promoted only one system of medicine, the so-called modern medicine, which itself has failed to ensure availability of healthcare to everyone in most affluent nations despite a whopping increase in health sector spending. In the new millennium, there is a paradigm shift in developed countries and a new approach that underscores integration of holistic approach and lays more stress on family medicine, is being promoted. Due to misplaced priorities in health sector in India, while a handful minority can claim to have world-class healthcare, millions of Indians do not have access to any healthcare at all let alone primary healthcare. It may look strange and paradoxical but the fact remains that the role and responsibility for ensuring health for everyone is more dependent on what action and policies other ministries adopt than the health ministry alone. Availability of safe drinking water must be ensured by civic authorities as also safe disposal of human excreta, and hazardous wastes and provision of sanitation is a must. Food and agriculture ministry should guarantee affordable food grains meeting the nutritional requirements. Urban transport ministry can provide means of safe public transport to reduce levels of air pollution as well as injuries and accidents, which account for substantial morbidity and mortality in all developed and newly industrializing countries. The environment ministry should ensure a safe and healthy environment by preventing and controlling pollution of air, water and soil by formulating standards and their proper enforcement. The housing ministry should make available dwellings for all. The role of health ministry should largely be focused on ensuring highest standards of public health and preventing diseases as nearly 80 percent ailments are amenable to prevention. Promoting healthy lifestyle and healthy behaviors should be encouraged. Community participation and involvement remains the backbone of any good healthcare system. The emerging challenge of Non Communicable Diseases has to be met head on with focus on creating healthy work places.

The successive governments at the centre never recognized health as a means to achieve human development but treated it as a minor government department that needed some allocation simply because it was there. Policy makers, planners, healthcare providers today have to make good for past misses. Serious challenges lie ahead as on one hand expectations of people continue to rise due to technological breakthroughs and availability of new modalities for diagnosis and cure, and on the other prohibitive cost makes these inaccessible for much of the population even in developed countries. Hopes were raised by World Health Organization by formulating a strategy of ‘Health for All’ by year 2000. Now that the year 2014 has come, the goal remains elusive with new threats emerging such as AIDS, Tobacco-related illnesses, drug abuse, resurgence of old infectious diseases and above all work related and environmental illnesses. However, the intervening period gave us time to analyze the constraints and impediments to achieving this goal. In my own assessment the goal of health for all is laudable and the approach of attaining it goes through ‘primary healthcare route’. We need to have a broader, more comprehensive and integrated approach which should recognize and make use of our age old wisdom, practices and societal beliefs. Ancient Indians were known to enjoy long and healthy lives when no technologies existed. Whatever they said or thought has proved to be correct no matter, which scientific scale one uses. That eating less is associated with a longer life was a fact known to them (Alp Bhuktam Bahu Bhuktam – one who eats less enjoys food for a long time).

Their biggest observation was that vegetarian food consumption is associated with a longer life and lesser affliction by degenerative diseases. This fact is now universally accepted and even scientists approve this fact. The recent data indicating that red meat consumption is associated with higher incidence of heart disease and cancer goes to support their observation.

Current Health Indicators

Let us first see where do we stand today and what are our achievements? After Independence the life expectancy of an Indian (life expectancy denotes the average number of years a new-born child is expected to live under current mortality conditions) has risen from 32 years at that time to 65 years. ; the maternal mortality at present is 178 /100,000 live births (2011-2012) which is still too high; the death rate from 27.4/1000 population has dropped to 8/1000 population (2012) in last decade and infant mortality rate has declined from 146/1000 live birth at the time of independence to 42/1000 (2012) live births in last decade. An interesting fact is that though these figures represent the national averages there is a wide inter-state variability and some states like Kerala are way ahead whereas states like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh which lag behind. Again, though infant mortality has registered a drop; problem of malnutrition has not been solved and remains a matter of grave concern. India, has one of the highest incidence of low birth weight, nearly 7.5 million low-birth weight babies annually – the highest for any country. It is now universally acknowledged that poverty is harbinger of poor health and without a reasonable socio-economic development health for all cannot be achieved. Yet the ‘human development report, published in the last decade’ places the overall prevalence of poverty in India at 38 per cent, i.e., about 350 million, which is an unacceptably high figure. “As per NSSO report based on the survey conducted by it in July 2004-June 2005, the average per capita calorie in-take at all India level in rural areas is 2,047 kilo calories as compared to 2,153 kilo calories based on the results of similar survey undertaken during July 1993-June 1994,” More alarmingly, the poor nutritional state resulting from this insufficient calories intake is far more prevalent in pre-school children, which might have serious effect on their physical and mental development. In women, prevalence of anemia during pregnancy is as high as 87.5 percent with 13 percent recording severe anemia, which has profound implications for the health of new-born. Similarly potable water, disposal of waste, sewerage system and clean toilets are available to few. Besides, there are other distortions like three doctors to one nurse whereas there should be three nurses for one doctor, lack of adequate numbers of public health specialists, epidemiologists, pathologists and radiologists. Above all the world’s first nation to launch a family planning programme way back in 1952 has miserably failed in meeting the targets thanks to the corruption perpetrated by the governments in power.

Current Trends

Recent research indicates that role of lifestyle and environment is perhaps more profound in securing human health than was previously thought. Interestingly, our ancestors always knew this secret as is evidenced by their great penchant for cleanliness, environmental sanitation and food hygiene. Indian system of medicine invariably recommended alteration in diet and food habits in all cases of illness. The concept of biodiversity was propagated and one was exhorted to show compassion to all living beings and even trees. Isa Upnishad clearly states ‘ Isa Vasya Midam Sarvam Yat Kinch Jagtyam Jagat (‘God dwells in all and everything whatever is present in this universe’. To promote social wellbeing and harmony they enunciated the concept of ‘ Vashudhev Kutumbukam’ The world is a family. If everyone is a family member where is the room for discord and how can there be isolation and alienation?

We now recognize that many ailments result due to an unhealthy lifestyle and many disorders are related to poor nutrition, alcohol abuse, smoking and the stress. What is not frankly accepted is that many of these diseases are the results of a society that alienates people from themselves and each other. Modern medicine is unable to provide solutions to this. Identifying the need for social answers to disease is also an important part of the solution. If healing of people is to be really achieved, spiritual dimension of care is basically important. A decidedly more humane and healing approach is required which stresses promotion of body’s self-healing powers as was preached and practiced by our ancient systems. A serious effort is required to explain the strength of spiritual aspects of healing to modern practitioners and it calls for a new approach so that healthcare providers inculcate and adopt this.

Current trends in medicine are stressing a concept of healthcare based on ‘quality of life’ and this dimension is assuming increasing importance in healthcare. This becomes particularly relevant as the life expectancy increases and people start living longer. In fact, this concept was first put forth in our scriptures, which maintained that not only we live to 100 years, but also have our vision; hearing and other sensory and motor functions intact. Prof. O. Boyle of Ireland says that illnesses, diseases and their management can significantly influence areas such as functioning, mobility, mood, life satisfaction, sexuality, cognition and ability to fulfill occupational, social and family roles. The emerging quality of life construct may be viewed as paradigm shift in outcome measurement since it shifts the focus of attention from symptoms to functioning. This holistic approach more clearly establishes the patient as the centre of attention and subsumes many of the traditional measures of outcome. Quality of life assessment is particularly relevant to aging populations both for healthy elderly and for those who develop chronic diseases where maintenance of quality of life rather than cure may be the primary goal of treatment.

Futuristic Vision of Health for all

During my tenure as health minister, my ministry accorded high priority to the neglected public health system. Right at the outset we prioritized our activities, prepared an action plan to address the distortions that I talked about above. We encouraged community participation and involvement beginning from the launching of ‘polio eradication programme’ and continued till end. I felt people do get motivated and enthused if they are communicated the message of health unambiguously.

The Delhi government was the first one to take an initiative for the ‘Rational Use of Essential Drugs’. The programme was so successful that it has now been adopted by dozen states in India. The WHO has recognized it as ‘Delhi Model’ and is being propagated and implemented in many countries of the world with the guidance and support of India WHO programme for Rational Use of Essential drugs. We were very concerned about ‘ tobacco related illness’ and despite much opposition a bill was passed in Delhi as ‘ the Delhi prohibition of smoking and non-smokers health protection Act 1996’. This inspired the promulgation of The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA), the principal comprehensive law governing tobacco control in India. The Act was passed before India became a party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In 2004, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare exercised the powers granted to it in Section 31 of COTPA by promulgating a first set of rules, which, with respect to smoke free and tobacco advertising issues, have been stayed by court order or superseded. With respect to general enforcement of COTPA, G.S.R. 1866(E) lists certain officers who are authorized to carry out the entry, search, and seizure provisions of the Act.

Continuing with our mission to prevent diseases due to environment and occupation and protect environment a centre for occupational and environmental Health in Lok Nayak Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College was set up which came to be acknowledged internationally. We launched campaigns on ‘Matri Surksha Programme (safe motherhood)’ to strengthen reproductive health, ‘ Cancer Control Programme’, ‘Cataract Free Delhi Programme’ and ‘Shravan-Shakti Abhiyan ‘(for deafness affecting old and rehabilitation of elderly deaf). We were able to enact ‘ Delhi Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Bill’ and ‘ Delhi Artificial Insemination Act’. To promote holistic vision of medicine 100 acres of land was earmarked for setting up in half area a hospital based on Naturopathy and drugless therapy. In the remaining half, an Ayurvedic Medical College along with a hospital and research center was to be established. Medicinal herbs were to be grown in this area.

A ‘Healthy City Project’ was also started in trans-Yamuna locality, ‘ Hepatitis B Immunization Programme’ was taken up and we established a ‘Delhi Research Center for Modernized Promotion of Ayurvedic (the Indian system of medicine)’. To strengthen health education we carried over the concept of health to schools and introduced ‘ Compulsory Yoga and Positive Health Education’ in schools and also initiated a value based calendar to promote and inculcate moral values among children at a tender age.

However, I have to honestly admit that much remains to be accomplished. I am for promoting the ‘Human Face’ of medicine and considerable effort is needed to inculcate these virtues among our budding physicians. They need to be reminded what our ancient sages propagated ‘na atmartham napi kamartham atha bhuta-dayam prati | vartate yah cikitsayam sa sarvam ativartate ‘ The translation means ‘A physician should not offer his services motivated by commercial considerations, but should do so out of his inherent, unadulterated love for humanity.

The Hippocratic Oath has lost meaning today as a significant number of physicians are becoming bereft of compassion and remain preoccupied with the pursuit of material possessions. I strongly feel this to be the biggest challenge as to how we change the mind-set of our healers so that poor and needy do not feel unwanted.

A major and the most important task in my view remains educating the politicians, decision makers and those who to enable them to grasp the importance of health. A restructuring and reorganization of health ministry has become a compelling indispensability. For the reasons enumerated above, sub-departments of health may have to be contrived in all ministries for better inter sect oral coordination and for emphasizing on them the exigency to initiate appropriate actions to aid health ministry. They should become equal partners in health promotion movement and preventing illness. Secondly, the allocation for health should be augmented from present levels to more realistic levels. Let health be a concern of one and all.

A new and integrated holistic system of medicine is the need of the hour, which should incorporate the best of all systems including Ayurveda, Siddha, Yoga, Naturopathy, Homeopathy and our other ancient systems. These systems and their practitioners have served and healed the mankind for millennia and they cannot be ignored and dumped as unscientific and irrational. Integration of these systems may help contain fast rising cost of medicine. Students can pursue postgraduate medical qualification in any system such as Homeopathy, modern medicine or Ayurveda and should be able to practice the way they like.

In the medical curriculum for first few years all systems such as Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Naturopathy may be taught and at the end of this term students can choose whichever option they like. We cannot afford to ignore the wisdom and sayings of our great ancestors who selflessly served the mankind and handed down to us a code of conduct on nutrition, daily habits, spirituality and strengthening the moral values to delay and forestall onset of ageing and illness.

Organizations and associations like chambers of commerce and industry, Rotary and Lions International with branches all over, and numerous social and philanthropic organizations representing important groups of citizens may be roped in to building a strong movement of ‘health for all’. They may be motivated to divert part of their energy and resources to take up health issues and become active partners in the endeavour of preventing illness and promotion of health. They may be urged to wholeheartedly support government initiatives on positive health and rehabilitation and care of disabled.

In my view, two other aspects which have profound impact of health and human development that require urgent consideration are involvement of students in a massive way to communicate and disseminate message of positive health among masses and encouraging every individual’s participation for positive health. Students can donate some of their leisure time and vacations towards this altruistic goal of positive health. This will also enable them to acquire a health conscious attitude early in life. Individual potential may be harnessed by sensitizing him towards health. A total attitudinal transformation of people in thought, action and belief based on our ancient culture is required to make health a meaningful and purposeful concept so that everyone regards himself as guardian and defender of environment and health. Armed with healthy and hygienic habits and a positive frame of mind he can be groomed to performing one good act a day that should help in community development and acquisition of a proactive health culture, i.e., he can plant a sapling in front of his house or in neighbourhood, exhort people to work towards improving their immediate ambiance. Individuals may be encouraged to assume responsibility for their own health by shedding negative habits like tobacco, alcohol, other substance abuse and adopting a positive behaviour by ‘undertaking regular physical and Yogic exercises, going to bed early and waking up early; this brings a person in contact with cosmic energy of the rising sun and may ensure restoration and proper functioning of endocrinal system.

People may be persuaded to consuming a balanced, nutritive and vegetarian diet as recommended by our ancestors (Hit Bhug, Mit Bhug, Kal Bhug; Eating what is beneficial, in small quantity and at proper time), paying attention to food and kitchen sanitation, hygiene practiced by the cook, and disposing off the wastes properly, offering leftovers to other living creatures, worshipping plants and trees, showing care and compassion to one and all as advocated in our scriptures. This only would make health a successful movement.

Before I conclude I would like to highlight certain emerging areas where urgent action is required. Food Safety, Product Safety, and Injury Prevention and Control are areas not well appreciated by health policy makers and healthcare providers. The disease burden on account of traumatic injuries whether due to traffic, or at home or at work or recreation is unacceptably high and needs urgent steps to reverse the rising trend.

The Herbal medicines, their cultivation, and export are another important area that needs to be promoted. These have provided relief to people in India for thousands of years. Such a policy of promotion would generate earnings and employment and would provide affordable alternative treatment to those who are unable to access modern healthcare facilities.

The immunizations have enabled us to get rid of the scourge of small pox, diphtheria and other communicable diseases. The time is ripe to further expand the programme to include immunization against Hepatitis B, Hemophilus influenzae, and many other vaccine preventable diseases. Such immunization initiatives require commitment of the corporate world that should come forward to play a proactive role in propagating prevention. Gates Foundation in USA has taken a lead by donating large sums for this cause in the developing world.

Strategies in existence for population control shall have to be reviewed extensively. Disincentives and incentives linked to population control and small family norm shall have to be introduced at every step and everywhere in life of an individual. Literacy programme, particularly for women shall require dynamic improvements and strengthening. Law shall have to be enacted for all elected people from panchayat to parliament to bar entry of those who disrespect small family norm. A debate must start in the country for enacting a law for the common man to restrict his family size.

Finally, the problems of health remains inseparably linked to socio-economic development. The poverty angle has to be tackled at war footing. Health for all as part of sustainable development can only materialize if poverty levels are brought down.

I may conclude by reiterating that health is a complex subject but there has been a better understanding of the factors that determine health in last few decades. Government and ministry of health alone cannot and will not succeed in achieving the goal of ‘ health for all’ unless every single person and every organization is galvanized to become a part to this concept and idea.

VISION FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM HEALTH

• Evolving a sound and workable health policy based on the assessment and evaluation of the achievements and failures of last 50 years; there is an urgent need to gather data on determinants of health as well as finding out the leading causes of morbidity and mortality,
• Poverty elimination and socio-economic development is integral to attainment of Health for all.
• The new policy should focus on disease prevention, disease control, and eradication, promotion of positive health and protection by encouraging safety at all places including leisure and sports
• Linking attainment of health and healthy environment with socio-economic development
• Programme to reduce inequity and economic disparity
• Full-fledged cabinet minister to head health ministry
• Separate minister for Indian and other systems of medicine targeting positive health promotion
• Establishing a separate division of environmental health
• Step up budget to at least 10% in health as well as education
• Setting up Sub departments of health in all ministries
• Health & education may be placed on the top of the agenda of the government (not only in speeches & pre poll promises)
• Vaccines against all vaccine preventable diseases to be made available to all children in the country
• To capitalize on the success of polio eradication programme and harness the experiences for maximizing gains from national health programmes envisaged in future
• Launching a major offensive against major killers like tobacco, tuberculosis, malaria, AIDS and others
• Making all employees from top to bottom healthy by creating safe and healthy work places,
• Working towards reducing the incidence of Non Communicable Diseases (Cancer, Hypertension, Diabetes and COPD)
• Formulating a plan for involving talents and energies of all non- governmental organizations for creating a health movement in the country to attain goals set by national health policy
• Preventing duplicity of efforts of NGO’s working in health sector to ensure proper and meticulous assignment of roles, responsibility and demarcation of geographical region
• Revising the curricula of medical education to make it more adept to solving existing national health problems, – environment and health issues such as air pollution related morbidity
• Relocating and reorienting medical research to investigate gene -environment interaction and identifying the aetiology rather than the treatment of an illness, i.e., we delay the progression of a disease rather than looking for the treatment
• Vulnerable groups like Women, Elderly & Children receive maximum attention in policy of the Government.
• Utilizing the ancient Indian wisdom that has withstood all scientific experimentation and scrutiny in our health decision making
• Encouraging and educating people to adopt healthy lifestyles
• Yoga & meditation centres in all the districts-so that everyone has access
• Every school, office, building to be utilized for propagating and providing yoga & meditation facilities
• Massive positive health education through schools & all places including radio, T.V., offices, rail, buses and every public outlet
• Privatization of health services to an extent that it does not promote inequities
• New cost effective and affordable technologies to be available in health sector to all without discrimination
• Population control to become a big movement
  -Effective family planning programme
  -Need for law for effectively controlling population
  -Law for all elected members from panchayat to parliament to pursue small family norm
• Better planned healthy cities continuously working for health movement
• Well-managed urban environment
• Promotion of health by educating people to follow traditional Indian lifestyle to avail the benefits of positive health culture such as proper nutrition, yogic exercises, meditation, vegetarianism etc.
• Education of people about alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse as well as threat of unsafe sexual behaviour
• Provision of safe drinking water to all to eliminate water borne diseases which are entirely preventable.
• Strengthening of sanitation by properly disposing all categories of hazardous wastes such as human excreta, hospital waste, toxic industrial waste and hazardous domestic waste
• Promoting environment and eco-friendly technologies producing minimum waste,
• Promoting food safety, product safety, traffic safety, home safety and safety at workplace
• Providing safe, efficient, affordable and easily accessible urban transport system-to save time, prevent exposure to pollution, eliminating probability of accidents and injuries
• Ensuring healthy housing to everyone
• Promoting health at work place
• Cleaner technologies and cleaner fuels for curbing Air Pollution
• Curbing water pollution by preventing discharge of toxic and hazardous effluents into rivers and water streams
• Curbing soil contamination by encouraging judicious use of pesticides, banning toxic pesticides and licensing sale of hazardous pesticides,
• Promoting eco-friendly and bio-degradable consumer products,-discouraging use of plastics/polythene-encouraging use of earthen pots and banana leaves for daily use,
• Organization systems for disaster management
• Efficiency of existing health infrastructure and its proper utilization should be increased
• Healthcare system should reach everyone and be people friendly
• Provision of health insurance services through Indian companies. Insurance premium for poor to be provided by the government.
• Curbing exploitative strategies of pharmaceuticals and medical technology manufacturers,
• Essential drug policies to be implemented in the government and private sector vigorously- priority to be given to remove obstructions and barriers created by the vested interests,
• Business organization and citizens to participate actively in health sector movement in a big way
• Institutional mechanism to coordinate all activities connected with the conservation, sustainable use and propagation of medicinal plants
• Ayurvedic and alternative medicines- promote standardization, quality control and sustained research
• Invest in woman’s health and development to eliminate gender discrimination and disparity
• Ensure universal access to quality healthcare
• Mobilize financial resources for health and promote their effective use
• Ensure adequate and complete nutrition at affordable cost
• Advocate intensively for health
• Uphold and enforce medical ethics
• Strengthen epidemiological surveillance and health information gathering
• Strengthen healthcare for elderly
• Public Health needs to be strengthened by immunizations, community participation, providing clean drinking water and better disposal of waste
• Health professionals and experts are marginalized since independence; Indian medical services can be set up which is a need of the hour
• Introducing innovative strategy and a new system of healthcare delivery that is cost effective, humane, people friendly, and responding to the people’s needs
• A cooperative system of healthcare that is neither governmental nor private, not for profit but owned and managed by the community
• To look upon resource allocation for health as an investment rather than an expenditure
• To reassert, redefine and link attainment of health to human development and human rights
• To incorporate health in all important decision making at the highest level
• To modernize and upgrade existing archaic healthcare delivery system so that it is able to deliver,
• To incorporate the component of quality in healthcare delivery, accountability, to project the human face of medicine
• Review and strengthen health systems management
• Reviewing and strengthening total health systems management and inculcating TQM- Total Quality Management
• Reviewing existing purchase and procurement systems for equipment, drugs, materials, and other healthcare delivery supplies
• Reviewing and strengthening total health systems management and inculcating TQM- Total Quality Management
• Revising the curricula of medical education to make it more adept to solving existing national health problems, – environment and health issues such as air pollution and chemical exposure related outcomes
• Better planned healthy cities continuously working for health movement
• Well managed urban environment
• Providing & improving quality of primary, secondary and tertiary care in ISM & H.
• Drawing up a list of essential drugs in ISM & H and initiating steps to improve their availability at affordable cost to everyone.
• Completion of pharmacopoeia of all systems of ISM & H medicines
• Educational improvement for ISM & H
• Separate entrance examinations for ISM & H
• Preparation of standard text books on various subjects in ISM & H
• Providing knowledge in Sanskrit/Urdu/Arabic in ISM
• Facility for practical work in ISM to be strengthened
• Preserving and promoting cultivation and utilization of medicinal herbs and plants through “herbal revolution”
• Providing complimentary system of healthcare to patients in the hospitals
• Ensuring adequate budgetary allocation for ISM & H system
• The colleges of ISM & H should be involved in the national and state healthcare programmes by incorporating appropriate changes in their structure, mandate and programmes
• Centres of excellence in Ayurveda, Unani should be developed to provide healthcare to the people of the country and health tourists coming from abroad.
• Swasth Bharat-Samarth Bharat is only possible through the Swadeshi approach to development and ensuring that this sector is not controlled by the multinational corporations of the allopathic drugs and hospital industry.
• Our Bharatiya systems of healthcare shall be the main stay of our healthcare system and therefore their infrastructure shall be proportionately strengthened to be at par with that of Western allopathic system in next five years.
• Wherever some space is available in or around our healthcare institutions, the practitioners of ISM should be encouraged to set up herbal gardens not only for educating people to identify and use medicinal plants but also use fresh medicinal plant preparations in their practice.
• The Healthcare Education should not only be restricted to the present day practices of allopathy, instead emphasis should be on ‘Swasth Vritta’ Dinacharya and Rituchary related knowledge in as much as it can be related to present day life-style, such IEC(information, education & communication) literature should be prepared in regional languages

 

STRENGTHEN & PROPAGATE THROUGH ALL CHANNELS INDIAN WAY OF LIFE WHICH HOLDS THE KEY

• Harmony with nature
• Moderation in life
• Self-discipline of body, mind and soul
• AAHAR, NIDRA, BRAHMCHARYA deserve emphasis
• Promote Positive Health Attitude
• Be a Vegetarian
• Abstain from Alcohol
• Abstain from Tobacco
• Control over Desires
• Observe Celibacy
• Ability to Forgive
• Cleanliness of Body and Soul
• Unity of Spirit with God through Yoga

To conclude: A holistic vision of health incorporating the ancient Indian wisdom with focus on spirituality is the need of the hour Author is Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India and also a former Advisor to World Health Organization

Meet the Minister

Dr Harsh Vardhan is one of the most respected and popular political figures in Indian politics today. He has never lost an election, whether to the Delhi Assembly or the Lok Sabha. His standing in the Bharatiya Janata Party, of which he has been a loyal member since the early 1990s, is that of a mass leader with a formidable support base that spans the full diversity of Delhi’s population and demographics.

Few BJP leaders have the depth of political and administrative experience that Dr Harsh Vardhan commands. He held the portfolios of Education, Health and Law in the Delhi government between 1993 and 1998. He had donned the mantle of Delhi BJP Pradesh president four times. He has held the post of national vice-president of the party. Apart from his duties in Delhi he has been in-charge of the Haryana unit for two terms. He has served as Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly. He has also been a member of the National Executive of the BJP for many years.

In May 2014, Dr Harsh Vardhan was elected by the voters of Chandni Chowk, Delhi by a handsome margin, making him eligible to enter the Indian Parliament. He secured 4,37,938 of the 9,77, 329 (44.60%) votes cast and defeated stalwarts of both Congress (sitting union minister Kapil Sibal) and Aam Admi Party (popular TV news anchor Ashutosh).

Dr Harsh Vardhan is an ENT surgeon by profession. He associated himself with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s social work during his days as a medical student in Kanpur. Even as a struggling young doctor, he spared time for treating the illnesses of the poorest citizens of Delhi in the trans-Yamuna region.

When, in 1993, Delhi was about to have its first Assembly election, Dr Harsh Vardhan was chosen by the BJP to be its candidate in Krishna Nagar, which is Dr Harsh Vardhan’s home constituency. He won by a big margin as he was already a popular figure in the neighbourhood. He was elected easily, and retained the seat through five elections up to the December 2013 election when he was elected by a record margin of 43,154 votes.

Fondly called “Doctor Saab” by supporters and opponents alike, Dr Harsh Vardhan is known for disarming simplicity in his personal life and transparency at the work place. When he was Minister in the Delhi government (1993-98), the people found him remarkably accessible and officials respected him for his hands-on style of functioning. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee once said of Dr Harsh Vardhan: “He joined politics with the laudable objective of using his considerable medical knowledge and experience for serving the common man”.

Apart from being an effective minister, he also proved his organisational capabilities by rebuilding the BJP’s operations in Delhi virtually from scratch after the party’s defeat in the 2003 Assembly election. The BJP high command was so impressed by his determination to build up a solid party structure in Delhi that it took the historic step of giving him a third term as President in 2007. This is unprecedented for any state unit of the party. In February 2014, he was brought back to the post because the BJP wanted his efficient management over the party’s cadre to ensure victory in most of the seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

True to form, Dr Harsh Vardhan delivered what was expected of him. All seven seats fell into the BJP’s bag. Not only did he win himself, he played the role of the party’s field marshal to ensure victory for all seven candidates. This required awesome physical strength and psychological stamina because anybody who knows the reality of the Indian electoral battlefield would concur that Dr Harsh Vardhan did the impossible. He fought not only his own battle in Chandni Chowk, but also devoted time to guide party cadre and supporters in the six other constituencies. What is most amazing is that it was all done under the hot April sun when the day mercury hovered in the late 30 degrees. And, the proverbial icing in the cake – it was his second election in less than five months, having fought hard in the Delhi Assembly election through October, November and early December 2013 as the party’s chief ministerial face.

The formation

The second child of late Om Prakash Goel and Snehlata, Dr Harsh Vardhan was born in December 1954. He has an older sister and younger brother. The house in which he was born, 3240 Phatak Teliyan, close to Kali Masjid near Turkman gate, still stands. It was from here that he launched his Lok Sabha campaign in March 2014. His former neighbours were overjoyed seeing his loyalty to his roots. This essential nature of Dr Harsh Vardhan of never forgetting his friends continues to endear him to people.

Young Harsh Vardhan had his schooling in five schools in the Chandni Chowk area, most prominent among them the Anglo-Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee Senior Secondary School in Daryaganj, which is one of the oldest educational institutions in northern India, founded in 1869. He decided to be a doctor and after doing his pre-medical at Delhi College, also in Chandni Chowk, went to Kanpur to attend GSVM Medical College, from where he obtained his MBBS and later MS with specialisation in ENT. He returned to Delhi to set up a private practice as an ENT surgeon. But his restless soul, which had manifested itself earlier and drawn him towards the RSS, persuaded him to take up projects for the betterment of society. He joined the Indian Medical Association’s Delhi Chapter and worked hard in east Delhi, which is his immediate neighbourhood, to build up a solidarity of medical practitioners. He held various posts in the Delhi Medical Association – from secretary and President (East Delhi) to state secretary and President, where he showed early signs of his leadership qualities. Within the BJP, he worked hard to organise the “Doctors’ Cell” and established vibrant units in different states.

Given his remarkable achievements, Dr Harsh Vardhan maintains a low profile. A RSS activist since childhood, he retains the Swayamsevak’s tendency to downplay the “Swayam” giving precedence to “Seva”.

The man who beat Polio

In January 2014, India joined the proud community of nations that have successfully eradicated the dreaded disease, Polio. For Dr Harsh Vardhan it was the summit of a personal journey. For, he is widely known as the man who took the original initiative to start the Pulse Polio programme in India.

Like all pioneers, Dr Harsh Vardhan had to confront negativism, even insults. In 1993, when mobile telephony was still unknown and the Internet only a rumour, Dr Harsh Vardhan dared to dream of starting Pulse Polio. He was then the Minister for Health and Law in the Government of Delhi. From this vantage position he lined up the synergies of thousands of doctors, teachers, students, paramedics, nurses, police personnel, NGO volunteers and people from diverse walks of life.

He launched Pulse Polio first in Delhi, his home city, which was then home to 10 per cent of polio cases in India. In 1994, on a single day (October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi), he organised the mass immunisation of 1.2 million children. No immunisation programme in India before that had involved the marshalling of such awesome logistics.

A natural leader of the youth

Always a man to come up with out-of-the-box solutions to complex situations, Dr Harsh Vardhan decided to use young India to beat the problems of old India. In the eyes of Delhi’s little school children he saw the fire of tomorrow. While their parents were obsessed with problems first, they devised solutions. So, he converted school boys and school girls into “Polio Senas”.

This created an upsurge of raw youth power. What could the Polio virus do in the face of such a challenge? The “Polio Senas”, assisted ably by thousands of RSS activists and NGO volunteers, went to every nook and corner of Delhi and sought out infants for bringing to the centers where the two drops of polio vaccine were administered. This efficiency could not be achieved with the help of government officials alone.

Thus Dr Harsh Vardhan proved a peerless quality as natural leader of the young. In today’s India, where more than 50 percent of the population is under the age of 25, leaders like him would be an asset for the country. The simplicity of his demeanour, his famous honesty and indomitable spirit attracts young people to him like no other.

But Dr Harsh Vardhan had bigger plans. He dared to visualise a polio-free India, which could only be possible if a regular Pulse Polio campaign was held on a national scale. At first, experts, both Indian and foreign, discounted the possibility of holding it because of the awesome number of doctors, paramedics, volunteers and administrators that would have to be assembled on a single day across the country. Remember, it was the age before Internet, mobile phones and widespread telecommunications and power. Yet, undaunted by these challenges, Dr Harsh Vardhan went around the country persuading the health ministers of all the states to cooperate in making Pulse Polio a success. In the past, no state-level health minister had ever succeeded in recruiting such widespread, bipartisan support for anything, leave alone a polio eradication programme.

Today, India is a “Polio Free Country” certified by World Health Organisation along with other countries in the south-east Asia region. On January 13, 2014 India completed three full years without a single new case of polio being reported –the last of the cases having been reported on January 12, 2011 in Howrah district of West Bengal.

But there are other scourges to tackle. Dr Harsh Vardhan moved next to control tobacco consumption. As an ENT specialist, he was regularly confronting cases of laryngeal, oral and lung cancers – all attributable to tobacco use. So he conceived the first ever anti-tobacco legislation in India, despite facing stiff opposition from the tobacco lobby whose clout and arrogance at the time knew no bounds.

In 1997, under his bold leadership, the

Delhi Prohibition of Smoking and Non-Smokers Health Protection Act

was passed. It was welcomed by hundreds of millions of Indians who were directly and indirectly affected by the tobacco menace. The Supreme Court passed an Order asking all states and the Centre to follow suit. Soon, other states followed Delhi’s example, culminating in a Central legislation banning smoking in public places in 2002. Fighting tobacco is Dr Harsh Vardhan’s passion and he has attended all international conferences on tobacco control in recent years may it be Chicago, Helsinki, Washington or Singapore.

 

Dr Harsh Vardhan believes that a society does not become “modern” by just changing its superficial appearance. Progress and modernisation means adopting lifestyles that reflect collective maturity and vision. “You can’t call yourself a superpower if Health for All, Universal Elementary Education and Environment Protection are mere slogans”,he says.

Recognitions

The World Health Organisation recognised his contribution to society and awarded him the Director-General’s Commendation Medal at a prestigious function held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, in May 1998. It was an honour previously bestowed on the likes of US President Bill Clinton and football superstar Pele.

In January 2001, Prime Minister Vajpayee honoured him with Rotary International’s “Polio Eradication Champion Award”. He is the first Indian to receive this prestigious award, which earlier went to former British Prime Minister John Major, US President Bill Clinton, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a galaxy of other famous international personalities. At the function held in New Delhi attended by a large number of international luminaries to hand him the award, Prime Minister Vajpayee described Dr Harsh Vardhan as“Swasthya Vardhan”.

He is one of the few politicians in the country to enjoy broad, bipartisan admiration. Former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral famously commented at an international event: “If I have to single out one health minister for an outstanding award in India, then my first choice will be Dr Harsh Vardhan”.

Dr Harsh Vardhan was conferred the Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International twice. The International Institute of Polypathy based in Milan, Italy, nominated him as a Fellow in 1996. In 1995, the then President of Lions International, Mr C. Pino Grimaldi, awarded him the Lions International Service Award.

In 1994, he received the “IMA President’s Special Award of Appreciation” and was given the “IMA Special Award to Eminent Medical Men for Distinguished Achievement of Highest Order” for two successive years – 1995 and 1996. On “Doctor’s Day”, July 1, 2002, he was named “Doctor of the last Decade” (Swastha Ratna) by the New Delhi branch of the Indian Medical Association for being the “noblest medical campaigner of the last decade”.

A number of prestigious social organisations have honoured Dr Harsh Vardhan with awards and recognitions. The Maharaja Agrasen Forum conferred upon him the ‘Aggarwal Ratan Award’ in 1994. The Jain Mahasabha bestowed on him the ‘Ahimsa Samman’ in 1996. The ‘Sewa Shree Samman’ was given to him in 1996 for his outstanding achievements by Dr Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister and later Prime Minister.

The All India Conference of Intellectuals conferred on him the ‘Delhi Ratan Award’. The Acharya Kshemchand Suman Seva Samiti conferred on him the prestigious Acharya Suman Shree Samman for the year 2001. He has also received the Vocational Excellence Award by the Rotary club of Delhi Uptown for his outstanding contribution in serving the community with special mention of his dedication and commitment in providing relief to the victims of the Gujarat earthquake. He also received a Certificate of Excellence from Dr Bhisham Narain Singh, the former Governor of Tamil Nadu, on behalf of the India International Friendship Society for outstanding services, achievements and contributions.

In February 2002, he was honoured at the Polio Plus International Presidential Summit held in Mumbai in acknowledgement of his commitment to the eradication of Polio. In 1999, Dr Harsh Vardhan received the Human Care Award of the Millennium for excellence in the medical profession from the Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Shiela Dixit, on behalf of Punjab & Sind Bank.

The International Institute of Integrated Medical Science, Varanasi, awarded him with the Certificate of Academic Excellence.

For his services to the environment, Dr Harsh Vardhan received the National Environmental Seva Samman at the 1996 World Environment Congress.

Dr Harsh Vardhan has also received the Rashtriya Hindi Samman in 1996 at the All India Hindi Sammelan by the Dr Ganga Sharan Singh Rashtriya Hindi Sansthan.

Missionary Zeal

A major pioneering initiative of Dr Harsh Vardhan was his act of implementing WHO’s Essential Drug Programme, which revolutionised governments’ attitudes on public health care. Under the concept, maximum budgetary outlay was apportioned to those drugs most needed by the people. It was henceforth known as the “Delhi Model” and taken up by several foreign countries and at least a dozen state governments in India. The Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational use of Drugs, which is a powerful movement now, was thus born and Dr Harsh Vardhan continues to be associated with its progress.

His missionary zeal touched other areas of health care as well. Under him, Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College got the country’s first ever Department for Occupational and Environmental Health. He launched the Matri Suraksha Programme to ensure proper mother and childcare for Delhi’s middle and lower income groups. The Cancer Control Programme, the Cataract Free Delhi Programme and the Shravan Shakti Abhiyan for the rehabilitation of the elderly and the hearing impaired, were begun under his leadership. His administration also launched the Healthy City Project, the Hepatitis B Immunisation Programme and a Delhi Research Centre for Modernised Promotion of Ayurveda. Two other significant pieces of legislation that bear his stamp are the Delhi Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Act and Delhi Artificial Insemination Act.

Dr Harsh Vardhan’s fame as a committed health minister grew far and wide. Experts from all over the world consult him and he is regularly invited abroad to address gatherings of medical practitioners and social activists. His life-long commitment to polio eradication continues regardless his being in power or not. To this end, he also served the South-East Asia office of World Health Organisation (WHO) as an Advisor. He is the first Indian to have been nominated to the prestigious WHO body, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), in which capacity he counseled the international body on developing policies on vaccines and biologicals. Apart from this, he has served on the Global Technical Consultative Group and the Technical Consultative Group of the South East Asia region for polio eradication. This is the highest body of WHO dedicated to the elimination of polio.

Man of all seasons

Dr Harsh Vardhan is a member of several prestigious organisations in not only the medical field, but also in culture, diplomacy and related areas. He is a life member of the International Medical Parliamentarians Organisation, the Antar Rashtriya Sahyog Parishad, the Council for International Affairs and Human Rights, the Panchnad Research Institute, the IMA Academy of Medical Specialties, the Association of Otolaryngologists of India, the All India Rhinology Society, the Gems Association and the Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs. He is also one of the founders of Green Forum, the country’s first multi-party platform of leaders interested in environment protection.

Dr Harsh Vardhan has presented research papers at several national and international scientific conferences. He has also contributed to the world’s leading medical journals and has travelled in more than 30 countries, where he has visited centres of excellence to learn and consider the relevance of developments in the Indian context. He was also a senior member of an Expert Advisory Committee for Health Programmes on Doordarshan Bharti Channel.

Married to Nutan, a specialist in hospital administration who preferred to be a homemaker, Dr Harsh Vardhan has two sons Mayank and younger son Sachin who did his Accountancy and Finance graduation from Monash University in Australia is at present completing the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) course. His daughter, Inakshi, graduated with B.Com (Hons) from Delhi University and went on to take a MBA degree from Amity University. Mayank and Inakshi now work in the corporate sector.

A non-smoker and teetotaler, Dr Harsh Vardhan believes in the medical efficacy of yoga and physical exercises. He had made sports, yoga and value education compulsory in the school curriculum of Delhi when he was Education Minister.

Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians – indeed the followers of all faiths acknowledge Dr Harsh Vardhan as a leader who can unify societies and bring about national reconciliation. He worked with Imams of mosques all over India to help implement polio immunisation among poor Muslim communities. In special recognition for his services to the community, the prestigious Ghalib Academy of New Delhi awarded him “best professional” award in April 2008.

In June 2008, he worked closely with the Catholic Archdiocese of New Delhi to launch the first ever anti-plastic bag movement in Delhi called the “Green Shopper” campaign which also promotes business partnership in the manufacture and marketing of environment friendly products involving poor communities organised into Self Help Groups across India.

In June 2007, he held a day-long consultation with leaders of the environment movement in Delhi and resolved to become India’s premier “green” leader. In July 2008, when he went to the US to address the annual convention of the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), he was hailed as a “leader of the future” by the entire community of Indian doctors in that country. The Mayor of Las Vegas, Mr Oscar Goodman, handed him the “key” to the city, an honour given earlier to film actress Aishwarya Rai.

At the eighth AAPI Global Healthcare Summit held in Ahmedabad in January 2014, Dr Harsh Vardhan was given the Special Award for Leadership in appreciation of his leadership qualities and outstanding service to the medical community. The present prime minister, Shri Narendra Modi, was present at the event in his capacity of chief minister of Gujarat.

In December 2004, Dr Harsh Vardhan came out with his own account on how he conceived and implemented the Pulse Polio programme. The book, titled – A Tale of Two Drops(English)/ Kahani Do Boondo ki (Hindi), was released at a glittering function in New Delhi by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the presence of Shri L.K. Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister of India, Shri Mohan Bhagwat, present RSS chief (General Secretary, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh at the time of release of book), Smt. Sushma Swaraj, former Union Health Minister, and Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director, World Health Organisation, South East Asia Region.

Political outreach

Dr Harsh Vardhan was regarded as one of the most articulate representatives of the people of Delhi in their legislative Assembly. Between 1998 and 2014, he competently challenged the Sheila Dikshit government as an opposition leader. In the 2013 Assembly election, he was chosen by the BJP high command to be the chief ministerial candidate. Within a short time he galvanised the party cadre and the BJP came from behind to finish as the party with the largest number of seats. However, Dr Harsh Vardhan was unable to form a government as the BJP could not touch the half way mark. So he was named the Leader of the Opposition – a role he was particularly deft at.

Dr Harsh Vardhan has campaigned relentlessly against corruption and mal-governance both within the Assembly and on the streets of Delhi in public demonstrations and advocacy movements. He won the respect and admiration of Delhiites for defending their human, civic, environmental and consumer rights. Some of the major issues highlighted by him are corruption in power privatisation, the proposal to privatise Delhi’s water, unauthorised colonies, Commonwealth games scam the fast-running electronic meters, price hike and BRT. Restoring the holy river Yamuna to his pristine glory is one of the chief objectives of his political career.

As President of the Delhi Pradesh unit of the BJP, Dr Harsh Vardhan proved that an able doctor professional could also be a good organiser. His first term began in late 2003, just after the party’s defeat in that year’s Assembly election. He worked 20 hours a day to rebuild the party’s base in Delhi and restore the confidence of the cadre. Soon the BJP returned on the winner’s track. In April 2007, the party recaptured the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and in 2008, the Delhi Cantonment Board. His highest achievement was, of course, leading the BJP to a landslide victory in Delhi, winning seven of the seven Lok Sabha seats. Of course, the charisma of Shri Narendra Modi, was the overriding factor behind the success.

In between, Dr Harsh Vardhan also had two stints as the party’s in-charge for Haryana. The latter period (2012-13) was the most constructive because he dedicated himself to building up the grassroots units of the party and attracting a large number of cadre. This eventually paid off in the 2014 Lok Sabha election when the BJP made a spectacular comeback in Haryana, winning seven of the 10 seats from the state.

Apart from hard politics, Dr Harsh Vardhan was also involved in promoting the legacy of Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh, who gave his life for Jammu and Kashmir’s integration with India, and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, the visionary and ideologue who conceived the theory of Integral Humanism. In early 2008, he was named secretary of the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Foundation by the BJP President, Shri Rajnath Singh, which has taken up three important projects: to assemble the collected works of Dr Mukerjee, to restore his house in Kolkata along with all memorabilia including photographs and, most importantly, promote research in topics of national importance (see website:www.indiannationalism.org, www.theideology.org,www.deendayalupadhyaya.orgwww.drsyamaprasadmookerjee.org

It is Dr Harsh Vardhan’s dream to make Delhi an international city, equipped with world-class infrastructure with an inclusive culture. “Delhi will become the leading city of the world, showcasing the best of India’s progress”, he says. The coming years would see Dr Harsh Vardhan grappling with the awesome problems thrust on Delhi by rising population, vanishing green spaces, dwindling water table, unmanageable traffic and above all, a deepening rich-poor divide. The environment, he says, will be the single most important factor in people’s lives in the second decade of the century as the world moves slowly towards climate change. He is constantly educating himself on the vexed issues of the present and readying for the challenges of the future.

The Green Politician

Dr Harsh Vardhan devotes his free time to catching up with the world of new ideas. The field he finds most important is the future of the planet. He is deeply sensitive to issues of the environment and would like to end Delhi’s status as the most polluted city of the world. Dr Harsh Vardhan has taken up cudgels on behalf of the environment on the floor of the Assembly, at seminars in Delhi and other cities and through mass movements such as the ones organized by Green Forum.

He is pained by the condition of the holy river Yamuna, which he needs to cross at least twice each day. Thanks to wrong priorities of development, rivers like Yamuna are being reduced to dirty streams. Dr Harsh Vardhan is determined to give Delhi’s environment the protection it deserves and his mind is bubbling with ideas on how to promote the United Nations’ “Green New Deal” in Delhi. He has written several articles on his vision for a green Delhi in Hindustan Times. The articles are posted in his Facebook page.

Dr Harsh Vardhan’s vision for a healthy India is posted on his web sitewww.drharshvardhan.com. It attracts visitors every day and they give feedback which Dr Harsh Vardhan considers most valuable. In this way he has gained wide respect across the world, particularly among the youth.

Articles related to polio free India written recently by Dr Harsh Vardhan can also be read in the Republic Day Special issues (January 2012) of Organiser and Panchjanya. His latest views on health, healthy cities and modernizing health care can be read in the book ‘Delhi 100 Years’ recently published by Manas Publications.