India needs to look at an integrated system of medicine to improve the healthcare sector, said Governor H R Bhardwaj.
He was speaking at the World Homoeopathy Day celebrations at Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences on Wednesday.
The event was attended by homeopathic doctors and students from across the city. The Governor said many countries have realised the importance of integrating all forms of medicine, but India is yet to open its eyes to its potential.
“The rural population lacks even basic healthcare facilities. Most of them look at specialist treatment, which is expensive,” he said. He went on to add that “No welfare state can ignore affordable healthcare for the masses, especially women”.
B T Rudresh, president, Karnataka Homoeopathic Board, said the State government should concentrate more on Homoeopathy. “In Kerala, there are 990 homoeopathic dispensaries while Karnataka has just 40, even though we have 12,000 doctors. We need at least 300 more dispensaries,” he said.
Speaking on the same lines, the Governor said as the use of traditional forms of medicine like Ayurveda and Unani is decreasing, people must make efforts to preserve the traditional systems of medicine.
‘Solve Water Woes Soon’
“Water bodies across the state have dried up. The state must take appropriate measures to ensure that issues related to water are resolved,” Bhardwaj said. Addressing reporters after a lecture at RGUHS, he said water problems are a ‘sensitive’ matter “Adequate measures have to be taken for water management. The irrigation minister has been directed in this regard,” he added.