The Hindu Business Line : Presidential prescriptions

Last week, one of Kerala's most famous former residents returned in his official capacity as the President of India. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was on a day's visit to Thiruvananthapuram, where he had spent several memorable years as a scientist-engineer at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), and the then Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

This time, though, the occasion was unlike his previous visit, last year, when he addressed the Kerala State Legislative Assembly on 28 July 2005, becoming the second President ever to address the Kerala Assembly (after K.R. Narayanan in 1997). In a stirring presentation, he had presented the legislators and the citizens of the State with a 10-point development agenda aimed at making Kerala an economic success by 2015.

AGENDA

This time around, the President's aim was slightly less ambitious. He was in town to deliver the Sree Chitra Tirunal lecture at the Sree Chitra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, and to present the Sree Chitra Tirunal award to ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair at a gathering at the Kerala University Senate Hall. Later, the President visited the Santhigiri Ashramam at Ponthencode on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram.

Though less grandiose than his previous trip, the present visit was equally momentous for the manner in which the President's speeches sought to focus on one of Kerala's key strengths - health and medical care. Both in the delivery of quality healthcare in an accessible fashion and in the encouragement of a plurality of systems of medicine, Kerala has long shown the way for developing regions around the world trying to achieve universal well-being for its citizens.

Thus it was only appropriate to address the issue of a holistic and integrated approach to medical treatment. Delivering the Silver Jubilee Address at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences, Mr Kalam called for an integrated mechanism to ensure that patients are directed to the right specialist for the right diagnosis at the right time and right cost.

He urged medical researchers to exploit the convergence of technologies such as information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology. The convergence of information and communication technology, medical electronics, biotechnology, nanotechnology and mathematical simulation could one day lead to an integrated solution to the problems of the mentally challenged.

TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

Later, in his interaction with the students of Santhigiri Siddha and Ayurvedic Medical Colleges at the Santhigiri Ashram, the President focused on how "traditional medicine is our core competence". Claiming that there is nothing as "good" and "bad" science, Mr Kalam said science is universal and the choice to make it good or bad lies with the user. Answering a question from a student, he pointed to nuclear energy as an example - it powers industry, agriculture and healthcare, but could also be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. Again, the President stressed, the choice rests with the person who wields the technology.

On the traditional Indian systems of medicine, institutions such as the Santhigiri College should get its siddha and ayurveda hospitals to conduct collaborative research with other hospitals in the country so that the diagnosis and treatment database could be widened, leading to sharing of knowledge and good medical practices. There was also the need for networking the existing facilities and expertise to increase the pace of research and development in Indian traditional medicine.

These were some pointers for Kerala's large and growing medical and healthcare industry. The last time he was here, the President left with a rousing call for the State to adopt 10 key missions to achieve the goal of becoming an economic powerhouse by 2015. Most of those prescriptions are now, sad to say, mere historical footnotes.

Perhaps this time around, the President's ideas will hopefully trigger some introspection and concerted action in Kerala's burgeoning healthcare and medical industry.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

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