Participated in 40th AAPI Annual convention as panelists in Plenary Session on Vision and purpose for India – USA Healthcare Partnership: Actions for India, in San Antonio, Texas on June 25th, 2022 along with
Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, AAPI President
Dr. Jayesh Shah, Convention Chair, Past President, AAPI
Dr Surendra Purohit, Chair, AAPI Charitable Foundation
Mr Arun Kankani, President, Sewa international
Dr Satheesh Kathula, Vice President, AAPI
Dr Manoj Jain, Chair, AAPI TB Eradication Program through CTEP
With
Hon’ble Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the USA
US Congressman Tony Gonzales and
Hon’ble Aseem Mahajan, Consul General of India, Houston
Dr Rahul Gupta, Director, US Office of National Drug Control Policy (Drug Czar of US and President Biden Appointee)
Dr Sujeeth’s pitch was-
AAPI having helped stranded Indians in US with healthcare especially video consults and prescription refills in 2020 Covid season and having raised $5.5 million for sending thousands of oxygen concentrators, hundreds of ventilators, oxygen plants, point of care testing quick chemical analyzers to multiple All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospitals, we had significant learnings from the 2-year ordeal facing the largest pandemic in a century.
With Indian diaspora crossing 6 million in US and Indian doctors reaching about 100,000, AAPI’s role could be etched on 3 fronts:
1) Health Advocacy- effectively taking the problems faced by Indian doctors to the US legislators and senators and help shape an equitable policy. Also fight for health issues in US capitol to benefit India especially the role AAPI played in the recent vaccine diplomacy, facing shortages etc.
2) Knowledge transfer- coming up with US expert healthcare medical guidelines in the Indian context and work with Indian experts and ratifying final guidelines, promoting health education reforms to help India train world class doctors with emphasis on original research.
3) Charitable work- by way of funding nonprofits organizations and by way of sourcing human capital in rural healthcare on voluntary basis
To give more teeth, our ask from the Indian government is for AAPI to be accorded status as an official partner for Indian government in the US. Hon’ble Indian Ambassador made notes to this effect!
