American Association of Physicians of Indian origin in the United States is negotiating an agreement with the Indian government under which it would help improve medicare facilities in rural areas.
After a three-hour long discussions with a Ministry of Overseas Indians delegation led by Joint Secretary G Gurucharan, AAPI President Vijay Koli on Sunday said it plans to sign a memorandum of understanding during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad from January 7 to 9.
Gurcharan said the emphasis of the Divas is being shifted from being just a forum for exchange of ideas to discussion of specifics and the AAPI project is one of them.
Both Gurucharan and Koli declined to go into the details of the MoU, saying they are still being finalised and will be announced after a final draft emerges.
But they said the idea was for AAPI to operate in select villages in two or three states, which will become models for expansion of the programme. However, they did not give any timeframe.
Koli said AAPI will emphasise on access to medicare facilities, education of the people in health-related issues and prevention and also bring the best practices followed elsewhere in the world.
Gurucharan said states are being involved for the first time so that they have a stake in improvement of medical facilities in rural areas.
Depending on the response from states, more could be included in the initial phase of the programme, the joint secretary said.
Replying to a question, he said, to ensure that there are no bureaucratic hurdles, his ministry will work more like a facilitator and coordinator and allow stakeholders to co-operate in the projects.
There has been a vast improvement in the medical facilities in India as is evident from the sharp decline in child mortality, he said.
APPI will be expected to further improve them so that best practices in treatment as also management are followed, he added.