The Hindu 08.04.2010
Call for better medical facilities in urban areas
Special Correspondent
| ‘Youth must give importance to leading a healthy lifestyle' |
Seeking improvement:Students and teachers of Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College taking out a procession to commemorate World Health Day in Gulbarga on Wednesday.
GULBARGA: Students and teachers of Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College here took out a procession highlighting the need for better medical facilities in urban areas and for controlled growth of urban localities for a healthier society.
Students and teachers organised the procession, from their college to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk, as part of World Health Day celebrations in the district on Wednesday. They carried placards and raised slogans in support of better healthcare for people. The procession was flagged off by Dean of the college B. Mallikarjun.
Jayashree Pattankar and S.R. Nigudgi of the Department of Community Medicine were among those who took part in it.
At the official function organised as part of World Health Day here, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Nalini Namoshi stressed the need for the youth to change their lifestyle and give more importance to leading a healthy life. “The youth should avoid junk food, which is responsible for many lifestyle diseases,” she added.
G. Ajaykumar of the college, who delivered a special lecture on “Participating in improving healthcare facilities in urban areas”, said that around 100 million people were living in slums across the world. The failure to provide quality healthcare to this population would pose a major challenge in coming years.
He said unbridled urbanisation was one of the major challenges faced by governments, according to a study between 1995 and 2005. Every week, 1.2 million people migrated to urban areas.
Owing to the unprecedented growth, the authorities were not in a position to provide potable drinking water, and three per cent of the population in urban areas continued to drink contaminated water. In the underdeveloped countries, 70 per cent of the people were dependent on firewood for cooking and fell victims to lung and eye problems. Owing to environmental pollution, almost 1.2 million people died every year across the world, he added.
District Surgeon Sulochana Minch was present.
