‘Indo-UK Diabetes Summit set to be largest bilateral healthcare event ever staged between the two countries’

Diabetes is one of four non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that threaten global sustainable development and with India having the second highest diabetic population after China, it is sure to impact our nation’s growth indices as well. While both the UK and India are addressing issues of diagnosis, treatment, prevention across the board, the shared history, people-to-people links and the mutual respect for each other’s healthcare services could be further explored to focus attention on diabetes. Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai hopes that the upcoming Indo-UK Diabetes Summit will be the platform to explore such links. Express Healthcare gets more details of the event …

What are the aims and objectives of the Indo-UK Diabetes Summit scheduled for January 18-19, 2013 in Chennai?

Mike Nithavrianakis

It is now a year since the Indo-British Healthcare Initiative (IBHI) was launched in Chennai. In a few days from now, the IBHI will host the Indo-UK Diabetes Summit in Chennai. Some 40 senior UK healthcare delegates will be in Chennai in January – universities, hospitals, equipment/ technology companies.

They include specialists from the NHS’ National Diabetes Information Service and UK universities. The event will target public and private sectors across India and offer the UK as partner of choice in research, education/training and products/services. India and UK can work together in the area of diabetes to provide education, training, research, prevention and treatment.

What are the main summit themes?

The precise session titles are still being worked on, but will include all of the following: prevention, management of diabetes; obesity; research & innovation; wound care; education & training; and nursing & allied health. Each of the sessions will have the following broad themes in mind:

1. Stage a series of scientific and technical presentations by Indian and British experts on the latest epidemiology, treatments, protocols, technological developments and innovations.
2. Identify opportunities for enhanced partnerships in diabetes education and training and research, including in curriculum development, nursing and allied health.
3. Showcase the products and services of UK commercial providers by giving them access to a wide range of clinicians, hospital promoters and decision-makers.

Besides these, the Young Innovator’s Award will be presented to a healthcare professional or student achieving excellence in his/her chosen field, whether in developing a new technology/ solution or authoring a reputable paper. We will use the awards to highlight emerging talent and innovation in the field of diabetes, and we expect this element of the summit to generate significant interest. More information on the Young Innovator’s Award will follow soon.

Who is the summit for?

The summit aims to reach several hundred private and public sector experts across India and the UK – academicians, medical practitioners, medical equipment and service firms. Apart from the main sessions, there will be opportunities to network and forge B2B links.

What kind partnership opportunities does the Indo-UK Diabetes Summit hope to explore?

Diabetes is one of the four non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that threaten global sustainable development. It affects some 500 million people around the world and caused five million deaths in 2011. It is growing dramatically in some countries and the problems associated with the condition are having a huge financial impact on many families. India is one such country. With more than 60 million people, India has the second highest diabetic population after China. But there are many people living with pre-diabetes and the number of Indians with diabetes is likely to pass 100 million soon.

The Indo-British Healthcare Initiative (IBHI) is hosting the Indo-UK Diabetes Summit in Chennai on January 18-19, 2013 to focus attention on the problems associated with diabetes in our two countries, but also to highlight the phenomenal level of expertise that exists in tackling the disease. Both countries are addressing issues of diagnosis, treatment, prevention across the board – though education, training, research and technological innovation. Our people-to-people links, our shared history and the respect we have for each other’s healthcare services make us natural partners. With so many Indian doctors, surgeons and nurses having trained in the UK, this offers a platform for enhanced partnership in a range of areas.

This will build on an already strong foundation. UK healthcare education providers are already active in India to improve the quality of research. Imperial College and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are part of UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) supported projects in Chennai studying methodologies for the management and prevention of diabetes. Queen’s University, Belfast is working with Aravind Eye Care Hospital in Madurai to study the treatment of diabetic eye disease. The University of Southampton works with M V Diabetes Hospital in Chennai to improve diabetes wound management with particular focus on feet. There are many more such partnerships in the pipeline, but the potential for additional collaborations is enormous.

Over the last year the IBHI has organised a number of thematic events, most prominently on orthopaedics and gastro-intestinal, liver and pancreas. These have helped lay the foundations for closer Indo-UK collaborations, but the Diabetes Summit is altogether of a different scale. Over 30 distinguished faculty from both countries will speak during the summit in a mixture of keynote presentations, debates and interactive workshops.

In addition, we expect a UK Health Minister to inaugurate and support two missions from the UK during the week. One on medical/ health education and training will visit Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai; the other on medical technology, equipment and devices will go to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. We anticipate 15 British universities and 10 firms to participate in the event. The summit will almost certainly be the largest bilateral healthcare event ever staged between our two countries and will offer a unique opportunity for knowledge exchanges, education/ training partnerships and commercial deals.

To find more information, please visit: www.ibhi.in