SPEECH OF PROF. K.V. THOMAS, HON’BLE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENCE CHARGE) CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION AT THE 56TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF INDIAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION (IPHA) AT KOCHI ON FRIDAY, 10TH FEBRUARY, 2012:


It gives me immense pleasure to be amongst you at the 56th Annual National Conference of Indian Public Health Association being held here, at Kochi, the beautiful Queen of Arabian Sea. I congratulate the IPHA Kerala State Branch, which is just two years old, on their laudable proactive efforts in organizing the conference in an appreciable manner.

I am told that the IPHA is the oldest public health association in India having been established in 1956, with a membership of over 6000 – a mix of academicians, research workers, administrators and managers of public and private health care delivery systems/institutions, national and international Non-Government Organizations and freelance public health practitioners. Needless to say, public health associations like the IPHA can play an important role in guiding the public and policymakers in formulation of policies and programmes on public health issues. With your expertise, your contribution will make a difference in the policymaking process and help shape the national debate on matters of public health by identifying and eliminating the constraints, and in planning effective future strategies.

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, had stated that the Government will lay the same emphasis on health in the 12th Plan as was laid on education in the 11th Plan. You all will be happy to know that the 12th Plan, with its focus on Comprehensive health Care Coverage, envisages an increase in health expenditure to 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We have a great challenge on hand in meeting the health needs of the people. The discussions and debates that we have must help us examine the path we have travelled so far and reach the milestones that we have set for ourselves in respect of financing and governance of health services.

It is a matter of great consolation that in terms of life expectancy, child survival and maternal mortality, India’s performance has improved steadily. Life expectancy is now 63.5 years, infant mortality rate is now 53 per 1000 live births, maternal mortality ratio is down to 254 per lakh live births and total fertility rate has declined to 2.6. However, we must also accept the fact that there are wide divergences in the achievements across States. There are also inequities based on rural urban divides, gender imbalances and caste patterns. These are the areas which require a national consensus that will determine the nature of the health system in the coming days; it is here that public health advocates like the IPHA can step in to help/guide the policymakers.

The third Millennium Development Goals – India Country Report 2009 has also cautioned us on gaps in implementation of pro-poor policies in delivery of public services, where health too is a major challenge. The stakes are high. But as we look at the past and the distance that we travelled since independence, it gives us hope that with courage and conviction, we can together strive to bring in improvements in the standards of living of our people. Coming together strengthens us and as we join hands, nothing looks impossible and no problems seem insurmountable.

I hope the three-day conference that you have painstakingly organized will lead to a healthy discussion and debate upon a wide range of issues which you plan to cover including the Millennium Development Goals with their focus on India, universal health coverage and prevention of non-communicable diseases, tobacco cessation, HIV, Pentavalent and other new vaccines, immunization and child rights, management of snake and dog bites, micronutrient deficiency and malnutrition, health system research, Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, etc.

I convey my best wishes to all of you and hope the deliberations at the conference with the focus on public health priorities for the 12th Five Year Plan will prove to be quite fruitful.

JAI HIND!