16th edition of FICCI HEAL to discuss healthcare transformation driving India’s economic growth

Emphasising the significance of ‘healthier citizens build a healthier nation’, the theme of FICCI HEAL 2022 is ‘Healthcare Transformation: Driving India’s Economic Growth

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has announced its 16^th annual healthcare conference- FICCI HEAL 2022 from October 10 to 12, 2022. The conference, being organised since 2007 supported by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, will be held physically at FICCI, New Delhi. This year’s conference aims to converge all stakeholders- national and international, and provide a forum for sharing of learnings and experiences. 

Emphasising the significance of ‘healthier citizens build a healthier nation’, the theme of FICCI HEAL 2022 is ‘Healthcare Transformation: Driving India’s Economic Growth. The conference will deliberate on the opportunities for transforming our healthcare systems, underscoring its significance for economic growth.

Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare; and Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India, will inaugurate the conference and Dr Sunil Kumar, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Johns Hopkins University, USA will deliver the keynote address. 

Expressing views on the conference theme, Gautam Khanna, Chair, FICCI Health Services Committee and CEO, P D Hinduja Hospital & MRC said, “Healthcare has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy, in terms of both revenue and employment. According to NITI Aayog (GoI), the sector has been growing at a CAGR of 22 per cent since 2016, employing 4.7 million people directly and has the potential to generate over 500,000 new jobs per year. Apart from this, the sector has a multiplier effect and indirect impact on employment generation in the country, with additional advantage of majority employment for women”.

He further added that, “We need to rethink the role of the healthcare system in the post- pandemic era as the global pandemic has brought the long-awaited and crucial focus on ‘healthcare- as the economic driver’ of a country, which needs to be now reinforced in our approaches, policies as well as future strategies.”

Sharing his thoughts, Dr Harsh Mahajan, Co-Chair, FICCI Health Services Committee and Founder & Chief Radiologist, Mahajan Imaging said, “The crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic has opened the flood gates for innovation and entrepreneurship in the healthcare sector, with accelerated development of low-cost, scalable, and quick products and solutions- whether pharma, medtech or services. The pandemic has also provided an impetus to expansion of telemedicine, digital tools and home healthcare market in the country, apart from catalysing reforms in healthcare infrastructure, capacity building as well as operations and supply chains. It is now crucial to view healthcare as the contributor to our overall economic growth and lay a greater emphasis to develop a robust healthcare system with favorable policies for increased investment and research in the sector.” 

The three-day conference will include keynote addresses, panel discussions as well as plenary sessions covering the entire spectrum of healthcare delivery- primary healthcare, quality in care, healthcare workforce strengthening, infrastructure for NCDs with a focus on cancer care, health insurance, digital health as well as diagnostics and medical technologies.