HYDERABAD: A Three Day International Academics & Research Summit-2022, with the theme Integrating Health Care Delivery with Sustainable Development Goals was inaugurated at Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences Jamshoro on Friday.
Addressing the national and international delegates; the Vice Chancellor LUMHS Prof Ikram Din Ujjan expressed that health is crucial for sustainable human development, both as an absolute human right and an essential contributor to the economic growth of the society. Health is also a good cumulative measure of the progress of nations in achieving sustainable development. It contributes to national development through productive employment, reduced expenditure on illness care and greater social structure.
He added that by promoting good health at all ages, the benefits of development extend across generations. Investments in primary health care can promote health across all social groups and reduce health inequities within society. Vice Chancellor further informed that with many places around the world, our healthcare system is facing the challenges of an ageing population and escalating medical costs. To meet the challenges, we need structural changes to our healthcare system to make it more sustainable, more affordable, one key direction and something that is especially relevant to the medical profession is to strengthen primary healthcare with quality and cost effectiveness.
Improving and performance of health systems by enhancing financial and human resources, appropriate use of technology, community empowerment and good governance will advance this agenda. The potential for providing large-scale employment as frontline health workers, particularly to women and young persons, should be utilized to strengthen the economy and improve the health services. He further added that the era of the sustainable development goals has been activated, where the health of the people is well placed. The health related goals are broad to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The Sustainable Development Goals declaration emphasizes that to achieve the overall health goal, ‘we must achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health care so that no one must be left behind’.
This places universal health coverage as at the center of the Sustainable Development Goals as it is linked and contributor to all the other targets like, poverty reduction, education, nutrition, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, sustainable energy and safer cities. We believe that universal health coverage, delivered through an effectively resourced and well-administered health system, will be capable of addressing these and other health challenges. Universal health attention must ensure rightful access to affordable, accountable, appropriate health services of assured quality to all people. These must include primitive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services. Universal Health Coverage must be supported by policies and services addressing the broader social and environmental factors of health for individuals and populations.
Prof. Ikram Din Ujjan appreciated the Organizing Committee of the Summit including entire faculty members for their hard work, devotion and dedication.
Earlier, Chairman Organizing Committee, Dean Medicine & Allied Sciences LUMHS Prof. Moin Ahmad Ansari in his welcome address expressed, that this is a mere beginning of the various initiatives that have been introduced so far at LUMHS Jamshoro, that not only bring innovation to the table but cater to the changes in the way academic and research excellence is perceived. We are at the turn of new wave by expanding the horizons of notions prevalent in areas of academics and research. He added that an excellent example of that is our Mental Wellbeing Centre established by our esteemed patrons through which we are not limiting ourselves to academic issues being dealt by our students at LUMHS but addressing their psychosocial needs as well. Moreover I am pleased to herald the new age of maintaining standards for morality, for professionalism, for ethics in the form of Centre for Bioethics & Professionalism to be inaugurated soon.
He informed that our proud departments, QEC, DME, Directorate of Postgraduate Medical Studies, sports, and all others are headed by the professional leaders with vision and mission of professional excellence are destined to transform the history. I feel no hesitation to state that LUMHS would be an institute which you truly expect to produce world academic leaders in medical education. So clear and doubtless is the presence of current leadership in the shape of vice chancellor Prof. Ikram Din Ujjan.
Prof. Moin Ahmad Ansari offered his gratitude to the incredible assemblage of honorable and learned medical scholars, who have taken their precious time off their busy schedules to enlighten the minds with changing dynamics in academics and research. He further mentioned that this academic event has so much of scientific richness that three days summit was not sufficient to accommodate the breadth of activities and we had to have more than 100 pre-summit workshops, symposia and seminars. This is a clear & glowing proof to the immense success of this International Research Summit which officially commences from today.
The mission of the Summit is integrating healthcare delivery with sustainable development goals, to empower the participants through understanding, and we are privileged & humbled that all who gathered here are committed to play an important role in it.
Prof. Moin Ahmad Ansari ensured that this summit will make us filled with a lot of recent evidence based and up to date medical concepts on one hand and will provide us a chance to socialize with one another.
Guest of Honor Dr. Karim Khwaja expressed that the agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which are an urgent call for action by all countries, in a global partnership. He said that the Sustainable Development Goals recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
The Chief Guest and the key note speaker Dr. Mowadat Hussain Rana (Sitara e Imtiaz) delivered a detailed presentation on Integrating Health Care Delivery with Sustainable Development Goals. He expressed that every individual has to be loyal and honest in his or her profession to achieve the target for the proper implementation of the sustainable goals for universal health care.
A total number of 15 International and 75 National scholars will share their knowledge during the three days Summit at LUMHS.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022