AAPI Global Health Summit opens in Visakhapatnam

Jan 6-8 summit reaffirms Indian American physicians’ commitment towards improving health care in India

The 16th annual Global Healthcare Summit (GHS)  organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) was inaugurated on Thursday in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh,  with the lighting of the traditional lamp.

Chief guest Vidadala Rajini, Andhra Minister for Health, Family Welfare & Medical Education, AAPI leaders and local organizers of the summit lit the lamp amid singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ at Hotel Novotel on the seashore.

Leading medical professionals, thought leaders, heads of several health industry sectors, and policy-makers are participating in the three day summit attended by nearly 500 delegates from the US and India, according to an AAPI press release.

Read: 2023 AAPI Global Health Summit to be held in Visakhapatnam, India (December 27, 2022)

In a message to the the GHS, Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy urged AAPI members of “to give back something to the society, which has given them an opportunity to pursue medical education and become successful in India and abroad.”

“I’m sure this platform will bring together best in the healthcare field from professionals, who will provide innovative solutions for the challenges being faced by all,” he said.

“I believe that by working with you, we can improve the health and wellbeing of the people in the state,” said Rajini. “The government has the ability to design the best policies on healthcare, while delivering the best of the patient’s treatment eventually falls into the hands of the physicians.”

The state has already started taking measures to improve the performance of the healthcare sector by mapping the public healthcare and preventive healthcare system through effective interventions, she said.

Others who spoke on the occasion and felicitated AAPI and the local organizers of the summit included Gudivada Amarnath, state Minister for IT.

Dr Ravi Kolli, President of AAPI said the summit aims at raising awareness on key health care issues affecting the Indian subcontinent such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, women’s and children’s health, infectious diseases and mental health.”

Highlight of the summit is to reaffirm NRI physicians’ commitment towards improving health care and create model programs for management of various diseases and to improve outcomes universally, he added.

The Summit will be focusing on mental health, reducing the stigma for seeking mental health services, working on physicians’ burnout, Kolli said.

In addition, AAPI is keen to collaborate with various state and federal government programs to enhance the quality of healthcare delivery, making it affordable, efficient, and equitable, especially helping with the management of various diseases, improving health outcomes universally, training the trainer sessions involving learning modules in different specialties, and tele-consultations, the release said.

“We are sure that the summit will offer a rewarding experience,” said Dr. Ravi Raju, Chair of GHS (India) 2023.

Describing some of the objectives of the GHS, Dr. Prasad Chalasani, Chair of GHS (USA) 2023 said, “We hope to create an intellectually charged platform for experts to share their experiences on some of the common professional issues that still remain a challenge in spite of all the advancement.

The exchange of expertise and transfer of technology by the best brains is bound to offer positive and innovative solutions to some of the problems faced by humankind.”

Among the many initiatives that emerge from GHS 2023, a notable action plan will be for AAPI to collaborate with the state government to initiate an ambitious program to address mental health and wellness of high school students in Andhra Pradesh.

Some of the other initiatives that will be announced during the GHS 2023 include: effective treatment modalities on non-communicable medical diseases, reducing the infant and maternal mortality and HPV vaccination.

Other topics include stigma of mental illness, suicide prevention, management of chronic diseases and non communicable diseases, and other global health issues including climate change and its impact on health.

The GHS 2023 with the theme of “True and Total Health is the Wellbeing of Mind, Body, and Spirit” has several Continuing Medical Education (CME) sessions that focus on mental health, infant and maternal mortality as well as various other medical specialty updates, and medical jeopardy.

CME sessions with academicians from the United States offer unique opportunities for local medical staff and healthcare professionals to advance leanings and provide the best possible care for the people of India, the release said.

Read: AAPI’s 16th Annual Global Health Summit Inaugurated in Visakhapatnam (January 7, 2023)

The summit will have a research competition for medical students and post graduate students from all over India. AAPI will confer awards of excellence and lifetime achievements during the summit.

“In our quest to fulfill the mission of AAPI, we are proud to share best practices and experiences from leading experts in the world and develop actionable plans and projects that enable access to affordable and quality healthcare for all people,” Dr. Kolli said.

For more information on Global Health Summit, please visit: www.summit.aapiusa.org and www.GHS2023.com