World Population Day: Better preventive healthcare facilities for all can ensure resilient future, say Pune docs
The theme for this year is “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all”
PUNE On the occasion of World Population Day on July 11, Pune-based doctors said that better preventive healthcare facilities for all can ensure a resilient future. The theme for this year is “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all”. As the theme suggests, there are 8 billion people living today but not all of them have equal rights and opportunities when it comes to healthcare facilities.
Pune-based Dr Sai Waghmare said that preventive healthcare can ensure healthy living. “Many people in the rural parts of the country are not able to access preventive medicine which leads to many diseases being diagnosed very late. This also increases the out-of-pocket expenditure of the patients, adding to their burden. Especially women from rural areas who seek the least medical help encounter many problems but do not share the same due to lack of family physicians and guidance in the rural regions. A solution must be found so that women can come forward and seek medical help in time,” said Dr Waghmare.
Speaking about the need for universal healthcare for patients to access medical facilities, Dr Rajesh Deshmukh, a Pune-based medical practitioner said that the rising cost of treatments can lead to many families bearing the financial burden. “If Covid has taught us anything, it is that we should be able to provide healthcare to all at affordable prices. In this, preventive healthcare can help reduce the burden on the overall healthcare machinery. Universal Healthcare can ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to lead a healthy life,” said Dr Deshmukh.
World Population Day first came into existence in 1987 when the global population reached 5 billion. The United Nations celebrated the day on July 11 after getting influenced by celebrating ‘Five Billion Day’. Since then, this particular day has gained significance as it asks people to find a solution to the current scenario of a growing population.