Bristol-Myers Squibb India (BMSI), in association with the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), organised a roundtable conference
on ‘Developing Capacities to Tackle Chronic Diseases’ in New Delhi
on November 14, on the occasion of World Diabetes Day. The conference was supported
by India Health Progress (IHP), an initiative aligned at ensuring healthcare
access to all. The event was aimed at creating awareness about the prevalence
of acute and chronic diseases, and the dire and immediate need to spread prevention
awareness about these diseases.
BMSI is a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb— a global biopharmaceutical
company headquartered in New York city. Adhering to its mission to discover,
develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious
diseases, the company addresses unmet medical need in various chronic diseases
areas such as diabetes, cancer and hepatitis.
Attended by key stakeholders from the health ministry, as well as experts from
the healthcare and insurance industries, the conference offered a unique opportunity
for discussions on improving healthcare access across the country through formulation
of relevant policies by government. The conference deliberated on exploring
options to formulate special insurance policies for chronic diseases such as
diabetes and ways to highlight the magnitude of diabetes as a chronic disease
in India. In addition, the discussions clearly brought out the important role
that will have to be essayed by insurance providers in terms of making drugs
more affordable and accessible for patients. Other key aspects discussed included
improving affordability of medicines through policies that help in cost reduction
for management of chronic diseases, linking health insurance for promoting prevention
of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular, etc., and proposing a
course for taking this initiative forward by formation of a forum or advisory
group for recommending strategies for tackling chronic diseases.
Some of the key speakers included Dr Nandakumar Jairam, co-chairman, FICCI Health
Services Committee; Pheroze Khan, managing director, BMSI; Aman Gupta, principal
advisor, IHP; Keshav Desiraju, additional secretary, Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare; Arvind Kumar, joint secretary, Department of Banking and Insurance,
Ministry of Finance; Dr Ashok Kumar Walia, Minister, Health & Revenue, Government
of NCT of Delhi; Krishnan Ramachandran chief operating officer, Apollo Munich
Health Insurance ; Dr Somil Nagpal, health specialist, World Bank; and, Dr Anoop
Mishra, director and head, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis
Group of Hospitals.
Welcoming attendees and speakers, Khan, set the tone of the conference with
his opening remarks: “The rise in chronic diseases in the country poses
a threat to both public health and the economy. Not only do chronic diseases
pose an economic burden on society but also contribute to an ever-increasing
number of deaths. Therefore, it is imperative that we review and implement the
health actions we know will reduce death from chronic diseases.”
