Nita Ambani calls for more corporate efforts on healthcare

Mumbai, Nov 13: Calling upon corporates to join hands with the government to increase the reach of healthcare to the masses, Reliance Foundation chairperson Nita

on Wednesday said this should be one of their national agendas.

Noting that most maternal, neonatal and infant deaths can be prevented or averted by timely intervention not just by government but also civil society and the corporate sector, she said, "this will require forging smart and sustainable partnerships with each other and demolishing sectoral barriers to act as one for the national agenda."

Addressing an event here on Wednesday, Ambani noted that despite being the world's oldest civilisation with the youngest population, the country faces enormous challenges, including shortage of doctors and inadequate healthcare infrastructure, in providing universal access to healthcare.

Ambani: Less than one hospital bed per 1,000 people in the country

According to statistics, there is less than one hospital bed per 1,000 people in the country today. Also, there is only one doctor for 1,700 people, she said.

"This is an unacceptable ratio by any standard. We have a critical need to change this scenario. There is a need to build medical educational institutions and bring in new technology to close this enormous gap, directly and indirectly," she said.

Ambani further said deployment of new advances in technology on a mass scale and affordable digital services would make significant improvements in healthcare delivery.

"The solution lies not only in bringing more people to hospitals, but bringing the hospitals to people. The Reliance Foundation is developing a world-class multi-speciality hospital in Mumbai, which will have a patient centric approach and support services. This hospital will be launched soon," she added.

PTI