Bangalore: Andhra Pradesh hosted the fifth Indo-US healthcare summit of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) recently. Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh inaugurated the summit.

Kiran Kumar Reddy spoke on the lack of physical activity among children and their increasing desire for junk food. He also expressed serious concern on the increasing infant and maternal mortality rates in the state. Dr. D.L.Ravindra Reddy, health minister asked the cooperation of AAPI to tackle these issues.

Sunita Kanumury, an Indian American physician is the president of AAPI. She said the organization will look into the matter of increasing mortality rates, by cooperating with the Andhra government. Measures will be taken to conquer diabetics and cardio-vascular diseases. The doctors in emergency medical services in the state were given training by the AAPI emergency medical care experts.

“We have enormous challenges of healthcare globally such as heart disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cancer, maternal and infant health, and mental health, nutritional and infectious diseases. Addressing this problem constitutes one of the greatest challenges of our times and failure to do so properly will have dire consequences on our economy and social fabrics,” she said in a press release.

Dr. Ramesh Mehta, secretary-general of the Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin said, many Indian doctors working abroad will be shifting to India, after resigning. This reverse brain drain will prove to be beneficial to the country, which is in need of doctors desperately.