Epidemiologists from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, have emphasised strengthening preventive healthcare and Health for All, this year's theme adopted by the World Health Organisation for World Health Day.

They stressed that alternative options, such as, traditional health, could be crucial to achieving the concept of Health for All.

Speaking to Drug Today Medical Times on the sidelines of the event on Celebration of World Health Day, Prof (Dr) Chandrakant S Pandav, Former Head of Center for Community Medicine, Delhi-AIIMS, said, "As far as health is concerned, the definition for Health for All has been given in our Puranas around seven thousand years ago."

Prof Pandav stressed that emphasis in the Puranas has been given on preventive and promotive health but with the passage of time, it has been forgotten. Nobody paid any attention towards the seven thousand-year-old traditions of health.

"I can give my example. I am suffering from Parkinson’s disease. I have been taking allopathic treatment, also known as standard treatment, since 2016 but besides this, I am also getting treatment of Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Herbal Medicine and reflexology (a type of massage)," he added.

“Along with them, I have also improved my diet. I take one each teaspoon of almonds, cashew and pumpkin seeds. I am applying these things to myself and you can see my health. I am sitting on the chair and I can even dance,” Prof Pandav added, who is also known as The Iodine Man of India.

“Whatever I discussed with you are non-invasive methods without causing pain. These things should come under our skill development programs,” he said.  

“What I mean to say is that our traditional medicine should be encouraged. It is our duty. There is no mixoapthy in it,” Prof Pandav added.  

He pointed out, "80% of our resource allocation goes to curative while 10% goes to preventive. This has to be changed."

Explaining more about the concept of Health for All, Prof Sanjay Rai from the Department of Community Medicine, Delhi-AIIMS and President of the Indian Public Health Association said that Health for All means that healthcare should be accessible to all.

“Health without well-being is incomplete. Well-being has been an integral part of our Puranas. Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Niramaya.This means everyone should remain happy and healthy,” Prof Rai said.  

“Though this concept is new for modern medicine, it has been prevailing for years in India since ages. While the Indian civilisation sees the world as one of its own as expressed in the form of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, meaning the entire world is one family, we pray that let the whole world remain disease-free when we say, Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Niramaya which Health for All is striving to achieve” Prof Rai said.

“Although the concept of Health for All was taken up by the World Health Organisation in 1978, even after forty-five years we have not achieved it so far. No target has been fixed to achieve Health for All but this year it has come into focus again,” Prof Rai said.

“To achieve it, there is an approach of Universal Health Coverage that means equitable access to healthcare to all. Everyone does not need the same amount of healthcare. Equitable distribution of healthcare is a must,” Prof Rai pointed out.