(Chicago, February 25th, 2019) While much progress has been made to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women, the fact remains that millions of women in India and around the world are deprived of their basic rights like education, forced into marriage early on, not allowed to work, and are denied their voices and rightful places in the society. India tops the list of countries that are said to have highest mortality rates during delivery and even the highest number of non-school going girls. Nearly a quarter of total number of girls born in India don’t even live to see their 15th birthday.
There is a need to empower women, working towards women’s education, gender equality, giving them respect and honor them for their contributions and achievements. There is an urgent need to work on bringing awareness in the society about the need for gender equality and equal opportunity in terms of education, healthcare and equal wages for women. It requires immense amount of dedication and reforms in the education and healthcare systems that need to be implemented as well as monitored consistently.
It’s in this context, AAPI continues its focus on women’s education, especially in rural India. A major theme and focus of the 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit to be held from July 21st -24th 2019, Hyderabad, India, organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in collaboration with Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), will be on Women’s Health,” declared Dr. Suresh Reddy, President-Elect and Chairman of the GHS 2019.
A team of physicians, consisting of women leaders of AAPI, including Drs. Sangeeta Agrawal; Uma Jonnalagadda; Saumya Neravelta; Stella Gandhi; Kusum Punjabi; Radhika Chimats; Swati Yalamnchi; Pooja Kinkhabawala; Dr. Meher Medavaram; and, Dr. Anupama Gotimukula will lead the sessions on Women’s Healthcare Needs. In addition, a day-long session on Rural Health Education will be held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Hyderabad on July 22nd.
The much awaited Women’s Forum at the GHS will be led by a panel consisting of inspiring women leaders who have been in the forefront, and have shown resiliency, confidence, leadership, determination, and dedication, and have withered all obstacles in life, and have become women leaders, and are recognized to be an inspiration to all.
Dr. Jagan Ailineni, past President of AAPI says, “With the objective of better understand the health care challenges in rural India and have a direct experience of rural healthcare needs, AAPI delegates will travel to Burgula village in Ranga Reddy district in the state of Telengana on July 24th.” They will have a fist hand experience of ADOPT A VILLAGE project in this village, initiated by Dr. Jagan Ailineni and Dr. Alok Agrawal.
The AAPI delegates will visit and interact with the participants and the beneficiaries of the Project in this village and get to know the impact of the many projects undertaken in this villages, especially, Kashi Reddy Guda Primary School, Swacch Pathashala Award in Telangana, Water Plant, Toilets, Mahila Mandal building, Pragathi Bhavan, Zilla Parishad High School and Primary school in Burgula. They will also visit the Primary Health Center, Burgula; Pragathi Rural Development Center, Burgula.
Delegates also will visit the Sneha Program where Menstrual Hygiene Program with distribution of Sanitary Napkins are given away to needy women. Challenges in Rural Health Care in India with Hand-outs & Brochures prepared by Dr. Alok & Sangeeta Agrawal will be handed out on July 22.
There will be a Hands on CPR in two locations simultaneously on the same day at the High School by GMCGA Alumni; and, at the Pragathi Rural Development Center by GMCGA. The CPR trainings will be provided to Anganwadi and Asha workers, who are women leaders in the local community.
According to Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Secretary of AAPI, “The trainings are aimed at decreasing the number of deaths, especially from road accidents by enabling the first responders to provide life support to victims of accidents. The training, which includes CPI and other medical services are being provided by professional trainers from the US and is offered to personnel. In collaboration with the American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine, and the American Heart Association, AAPI is organizing the workshop/training (EMTC) trainings for first responders, as part of the GHS 2019.”
Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, Vice-President of AAPI, says, “The growing clout of the physicians of Indian origin in the United States is seen everywhere as several physicians of Indian origin hold critical positions in the healthcare, academic, research and administrative positions across the nation. Indian doctors have carved a comfortable niche in the American medical community and have earned a name for themselves with their hard work, dedication, compassion, and amazing skills and talents.”
Representing the voice of the over 100,000 physicians of Indian origin, leaders of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic organization of physicians, have been strategically engaged in working with the Union and State Governments of India for the past dozen years.
“We collaborate with more than 35 professional medical associations, pharmaceutical and medical device companies to address the health care challenges of a rapidly developing India. It is the passion, willingness and staunch loyalty towards the former motherland that draws several AAPI members to join this effort & by working with experts in India, AAPI is able to bring solutions that are India centric & takes us closer to our lofty vision of making quality healthcare affordable & accessible to all people of India,” said Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of India.
“With the changing trends in healthcare both in India and US, we are refocusing our mission and vision. AAPI would like to make a positive impact on the healthcare delivery system both in the US and in India,” Dr. Suresh Reddy said. For more information on Global Health Summit 2019, please visit www.aapiusa.org
