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The Health Minister of Afghanistan, Dr. Sayeed Mohammad Amin Fatemi today sought cooperation of India in setting up tele-medicine facilities in Afghanistan. In a meeting lasting for about an hour with the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, the Minister from Afghanistan said he had drawn up a draft Memorandum of Understanding on the Health Sector which he would like the Health Minister to consider.
On his part, the Union Health & Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Ramadoss offered not only to set up tele-medicine facilities but also offered technical cooperation to train doctors in Afghanistan and to set up modern diagnostic facilities.
The Minister from Afghanistan suggested that they should have a regional cooperation meeting to workout a framework to eradicate diseases in the area. He said in his country Malaria, TB and Kalaazar were re-emerging and these are some diseases which are found in the entire region. India also offered vaccines for eradicating communicable diseases which are both cheap and cost effective.
The Union Health & Family Welfare Minister also had a meeting with the President of the Nippon Foundation, Mr. Yohei Sasakava who is also the WHO ambassador for elimination of leprosy in India. Dr. Ramadoss appreciated the work being done by Nippon Foundation in fighting for a social cause and a disease where there is a lot of discrimination. The Minister assured the fullest cooperation in eliminating leprosy by the year end and eradicating the disease by 2007. Mr. Sasakava sought Government’s help in giving a final push to eradicate the disease and controlling discrimination especially of those who had already been completely cured.
In India, 20 states have already brought down the prevalence of leprosy to six per ten thousand. Six states have still to reduce the prevalence to this level. Mr. Sasakava expressed concern over continuing discrimination of people cured of leprosy. Dr. Ramadoss assured him that once leprosy was eliminated, all efforts will be concentrated on rehabilitating leprosy victims.
EK/MK.
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