Aimed at paving the roadmap for a robust, resilient, and future ready healthcare system, the roundtable saw participation from policymakers and health experts from an array of organisations spanning medical institutions, research bodies, civil society and the government health departments including the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The roundtable was held at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi, with Prof (Dr) Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services, MoHFW, as the chief guest. Other dignitaries present included Ms Nidhi Kesarwani (IAS), Director, NIHFW, Maj. General Dr. Atul Kotwal, Executive Director, National Health Systems Resource Centre, NHM, MoHFW, and Dr. Suneela Garg, Chair Programme Advisory Committee-NIHFW.
Speaking at the roundtable, Maj. General Dr. Atul Kotwal, Executive Director, National Health Systems Resource Centre, NHM, MoHFW, said, “The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through various nationwide initiatives, is committed to improving healthcare outcomes across India. This requires unabated upskilling of our country’s healthcare workforce, enabling them to offer effective care and treatment. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, capacity-building initiatives, like those run by ECHO India and its partners and NHSRC, continued by leveraging technology and are one of the ways to sustainable advancements towards health system strengthening.”
Dr. Suneela Garg, Chair Programme Advisory Committee-NIHFW, said, “In recent years, technological advancements have changed the knowledge-sharing process by eliminating geographic barriers and enabling easy access to information. It is crucial to give all cadres of healthcare professionals ample opportunities to upskill their knowledge so that they can continuously improve healthcare outcomes and are ready to effectively deal with all emerging medical challenges." "The ECHO Model of case-based learning, which utilises digital infrastructure, has played a rather crucial role in the capacity-building of healthcare professionals, especially in the last few years," she added.
Highlighting the need for India’s health system strengthening, Dr (Col) Kumud Rai, Chairman & Managing Trustee, ECHO India, said, “Effective delivery of quality health services, specially to the underserved, is our collective responsibility and to ensure best healthcare outcomes, capacity building of healthcare workforce is the need of the hour. The ECHO model enables case-based learning of healthcare professionals - doctors, nurses, ASHAs and all cadres of Community Health Workers - amplifying their ability to provide quality healthcare for underserved people.”
Dr. Sandeep Bhalla, Associate Vice President of ECHO India added, “With ECHO playing a crucial role in healthcare capacity building across India, these roundtables will spread awareness about how our existing and potential partners can utilise the ECHO model, which has evolved into a learning framework that applies across disciplines for sustainable and profound change. Our partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, began in 2019. Since then, the collaborative initiatives have led to the capacity building of thousands of healthcare workers, empowering them to effectively tackle emerging medical challenges.”
