On the occasion of the 68th All India Cooperative Week, NCUI recently held a webinar on “Strengthening Health Cooperatives”. The event assumed particular importance as it took place in the wake of the 2nd wave of the Covid pandemic.
Delivering his presidential address, NCUI president Dileep Sanghani, said the impact of various health schemes of the government has not reached up to the grassroots levels. In view of this, cooperatives can be the only medium through which the benefits of health schemes can reach the poor and the downtrodden sections of society.
Cooperatives did a lot of good work in meeting the needs of their members and the general public during the covid crisis, he said. In his keynote address, Dr. K.T. Chenashappa, Advisor, NCDC shed light on the various features of the Ayushman Sakhar Scheme of the Government of India being implemented by NCDC.
Referring to the Ayushman Scheme he explained how the unique scheme can help cooperatives play an important role in the creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country.
The scheme has a comprehensive approach that covers hospitals, healthcare, medical education, nursing education, paramedical education, health insurance, and holistic health systems, he noted. Dr. Chenashappa added that cooperatives have a strong network in the rural areas and their involvement in the healthcare schemes can prevent migration of people from rural to urban areas.
Several people managing healthcare facilities including those running cooperative medical hospitals addressed the webinar. All of them shared their experiences and urged govt to help cooperatives set up medical facilities. One of them, P. Rajendran, President, N.S. Memorial Cooperative Hospital, Kerala suggested that NCUI should prepare a 5 years Master Plan and constitute a National Task Force for strengthening cooperative healthcare.
Sanjay Verma, Director, NCUI coordinated the program. Dr VK Dubey, Advisor, NCUI proposed a vote of thanks on the occasion.