The Council proposes to create memorial for health workers that will remind people supreme importance of health as well provide opportunity to share information, discuss, remember work, sacrifice of these heroes
Echoing the sentiments of his colleagues in the government and other lawmakers, Ramdas Athawale, Minister of State, Social Justice and Empowerment, attending the ‘Gratitude Week – A Tribute to Health Guardians’ by Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council said that the memorials for healthcare workers who are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic at the frontline should be set up in every state capital as well as in the national capital.
“The suggestion of dedicating a national memorial for our doctors, nurses and all other healthcare workers who are saving our people risking their own lives is noble and appreciable. I thank IHW Council for their suggestion. These corona warriors are doing selfless service to humanity and are protecting our country against this pandemic. I will write a letter to Union Health Minister and all the chief ministers to dedicate a memorial for these heroes in the national capital and in all the state capitals,” said Athawale who was the Chief Guest at the concluding ceremony of the seven-day long initiative to pay tribute to the health workers.
The 60-hour-long Gratitude Week by the IHW Council is a first-of-its-kind initiative to bring together all stakeholders of the critical health ecosystem to facilitate greater collaboration for an all-round fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as well as several other diseases that are taking a heavy toll on the lives and productivity of our people. It has also initiated the process of crowdsourcing tributes for all healthcare workers and information about all doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who have fallen to the deadly Coronavirus. The Council proposes to create a memorial for health workers that will remind people the supreme importance of health as well provide an opportunity to share information, discuss and remember the work and sacrifice of these heroes.
During the week long confluence of doctors, industry captains and policy makers, the idea of setting up National Gratitude Memorial for Health Workers has been strongly supported and endorsed by Ashwini Kr Choubey, Minister of State for Health, Shripad Y Naik, Minister of State for AYUSH, Meenakshi Lekhi, MP, Parliamentary constituency, New Delhi, who have vowed to discuss it within the government and the Parliament.
Kamal Narayan, CEO, IHW Council said, “We began this virtual event on Doctor’s Day to pay tribute to all the healthcare workers who are serving tirelessly in this pandemic. This Gratitude Week is our humble way to highlight their contribution and sacrifices. We see memorials of wars, war heroes, martyrs, and leaders and commemorating celebrations on relevant days. IHW Council strongly believes that the phenomenal work done by the medical community during this raging pandemic and their sacrifices can be compared to the sacrifices made in wars. The Council initiated an online petition campaign in this regard and we are very fortunate to receive the support of key lawmakers and members of the Parliament in this journey.”
During the closing ceremony, 18 eminent doctors were awarded ‘The Guardians of Health’ for their exemplary contribution to the health of people before and during the pandemic. The awardees included Prof MV Padma Srivastava, Head, Neurosciences Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; Dr Jeyaraj Durai Pandian, Principal & Professor of Neurology, CMC Ludhiana & Vice President, World Stroke Organisation; Dr Alpesh Gandhi, President, Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India; Dr Hema Divakar, Founder & Medical Director, Divakar’s Specialty Hospital, Bengaluru.
Among the other recipients were Prakriti Poddar, Managing Trustee, Poddar Foundation; Prof Debashish Danda, Founder, Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology, CMC Vellore & President-Elect, Asia Pacific League of Association of Rheumatology; Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder & Director, Ujala Cygnus Hospital; Dr HS Chhabra, Medical Director, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre; Dr Sanjay Pandey, HoD, Andrology & Reconstructive Urology, Kokilaben Hospital; Dr Arun Dewan, Senior Director (Critical Care) & Associate Director (Internal Medicine), Max Smart, Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital; Dr Hrishikesh Pai, Medical Director, Bloom IVF; Dr Sudeep Gupta, Director, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer & Professor of Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai; Dr TS Kler, Chairman, PSRI Heart Institute; Dr PP Mohanan, President-Elect, Cardiological Society of India & Director & HoD, Cardiology, Westfort Hi-Tech Hospital; Dr Madan Gulati, Former Deputy Director (AYUSH), Chandigarh Administration; Arunima Patel, Founder and Managing Director, iGenetic Diagnostics; and Sanjiv Navangul, Managing Director & CEO, BSVL.