Contribution of diaspora doctors to Indian healthcare to be discussed at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Dr Sampat Shivangi, an Indian American doctor who serves on the Biden administration’s National Advisory Council of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Center for National Mental Health Services in Washington DC, will be one of the speakers at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held between January 8 and 10 in Indore, Madya Pradesh.

“I will be speaking at the plenary session on January 9, along with India’s minister of health Mansukh Mandavia. My focus will be on the role of the Indian diaspora, especially the doctors of Indian origin, in enhancing and promoting the Indian healthcare eco-system and the vision for the future,” Dr Shivangi, who is also a prominent Republican supporter and political fund raiser in America, told the Times of India from Mississippi, where he lives.

The PBD convention, which is organised by the ministry of external affairs every two years to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India, has the theme ‘Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal’ in 2023.

Among the special global Indian guests at PBD 2023 will be Zaneta Mascarenhas, Member of Parliament, Australia; Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of Suriname and Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi; President Droupadi Murmu; external affairs minister Dr S. Jaishankar and chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, will be attending the event.

“I will highlight some of the deficiencies in the area of mental healthcare in India and will suggest some steps to improve the infrastructure to the Indian health minister. India lacks the standards of healthcare provided in the US and other western countries; there are an estimated 70 million mental health patients in India but only 42 mental health hospitals with just around 20,000 beds,” Dr Shivangi, who is the chair of the Mississippi Board of Mental Health, said.

Among some of the measures that he will recommend to the Indian government are incorporating mental health in the primary healthcare system in India and deploying social workers who can address these issues; setting up regulatory agencies to address issues such as substance abuse and a national helpline number to address mental health emergency cases.

“The proportion of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists available in India for the number patients affected is inadequate. Programmes should be created to train more mental health workers and to eradicate the stigma around mental health problems among the general public,” Dr Shivangi said.

Dr Shivangi, who is the chair of the legislative committee of the Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), will also attend the organisation’s Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) 2023, being held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, from January 6 to 8.