Shillong, Oct 29:  Meghalaya: Today, the 3rd North East Health Care Leadership Summit 2018 is organized by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in partnership with the Government of Meghalaya with the support from the Ministry of Development of the North East Region (DoNER). The summit was held on 29th October 2018 at Yojana Bhawan, Shillong, Meghalaya. The objective of the summit is to strengthen the focus on key health issues in the north-east region, explore emergent avenues for collaboration and provide a platform for interaction between various agencies and stakeholders such as healthcare providers, policy makers, researchers, government officials, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. The leadership summit attempts to draw the attention of policy makers and other stakeholders to the healthcare system of the North East region and contribute towards bridging the North Eastern Region for Health Transformation.

Shri. Conrad K Sangma, Honourable Chief Minister of Meghalya graced the leadership summit as the Chief Guest. Other dignitaries present were Shri. PD Rai, Member of Parliament, Sikkim; Shri. Alexander Laloo Hek, Hon’ble Minister, Health & Family Welfare Dept. Govt. of Meghalaya; Shri. C.H. Kharshiing, Planning and Health Adviser, North Eastern Council; Shri. Yeshi Tsering, Chief Secretary and State Vigilance Commissioner, Government of Meghalaya; Shri. Jayanto Narayan Choudhury, Vice President, PHFI; Dr. Sangey Thinley, Former Health Secretary, Royal Govt. of. Bhutan; Shri. V Vumlunmang, Principal Secretary, Dept. of Health & FW, Govt. of Manipur; Shri. Lalrinliana Fannai, Commissioner & Secretary, Dept. of Health & FW, Govt. of Mizoram; Shri. Pravin Bakshi, Secretary, Dept. of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Meghalaya; Dr. Priscilla Nghaite, In-Charge Northeast, PHFI along with a host of senior government health officials from all the north eastern states of India.

Shri. Conrad K Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalya, in his inaugural address, he congratulated the organizers for the summit the Public Health Foundation of India and the Department of Health and Family Welfare for organizing the 3rd North East Healthcare Leadership Summit in Sikkim that highlights key issues in today’s evolving healthcare scenario pertinent to Northeastern parts of India. He lamented on the importance and relevance of organizing such summits as these where there sharing and exchange of vast knowledge and experiences. The Chief Minister however stressed on the importance of realizing and recognizing the fact that while we talk about challenges and gaps, that we should realise the potential of the available resources and maximize its usage which is equally important for efficiency and effective delivery of health services. He encouraged the august gathering to find innovative ways of improving the existing system with the available resources. He expressed and acknowledged that this is not the solution but this approach can have a great impact in taking us forward for our vision of a Healthier Region.During the Summit, Shri. Conrad K Sangma also handed over achievement awards and citation to outstanding individuals for their contribution to NHM, Govt. of Meghalaya. (1) Dr. Kalpana Choudhury, Gynaecologist for her expert service in PMSMA where pregnant mothers get specialised care on the 9th of every month. (2) Sportspersons, Mr. Hameshaniah Suian & Ms. Melanie Pariat, they are Goodwill Ambassador for RKSK Program. They are instrumental in promoting healthy habits and lifestyle through school and community health programs and through various media. (3) Development partners WHO & UNICEF for their continuous support and guidance, towards improving the performance of the state’s Immunization, Maternal & Child Care etc… (4) Smt. Selmila Momin, ASHA from Nangaburi village of North Garo Hills, for her dedication and hard work to improve the health conditions and nutritional status of the children of her village. She is also the recipient of ‘POSHAN MAAH” award 2018 in New Delhi on 10th Oct 2018 under the individual excellence category.

The summit saw prominent speakers deliberating on themes that are very relevant and pertinent to the North Eastern Region such as (1) Access to Health and Challenges in the North East (2) The Impact of Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Epidemic: Lessons Learnt and Way Forward (3) Health Care Financing, Human Resources for Health Issues and Challenges in the North East (4) Epidemic & Disaster Preparedness in the North East (5) Leadership, Governance and Policy in Health: The North East NHM Context (6) Cross Learnings of Best Practices and Challenges in the North East.
The summit recorded an attendance of about 200 participants. The leadership summit witnessed active participation of beaureacrates and technocrats from the respective north-east states; academicians and researchers; representatives of UNICEF, WHO, World Bank and other stakeholders during the presentation and discussion.

The summit falls under the umbrella of Project Swasth Uttar Purv, an initiative by the Public Health Foundation of India supported by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region to strengthen human resource and systems capacity for strengthening Public Health in the North Eastern Region that is committed to address the identified and felt needs of the eight states of the North-East by promoting policy and programme relevant research, by filling critical information gaps, conducting health summits  and Health Conclaves, conducting impact assessments and cancer awareness programs, evaluating innovations for improving the outreach and effectiveness of health systems, ultimately developing a robust public health cadre in the North East.