A one-day Technical Seminar on ‘Preparatory Survey on Nagaland Medical College Hospital Development Project’ to enhance the effectiveness of the project by introducing the knowledge, technology, and good practices of Japan and other states to the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Nagaland Medical College Hospital under the JICA Survey Team was conducted at Hotel Vivor, Kohima on 20th January 2023.
Commissioner & Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Y. Kikheto Sema, IAS said the population of Nagaland is less but faces a lot of challenges due to its topographical and geographical condition, and health is one of the most important sectors that need to be addressed. Now with peace prevailing in the state and the project to have a medical college set up, a good hospital is needed, he mentioned that for a Regional Institute or National Institute, the state would depend only on loan assistance from Union Government and also support from the Union Government and external agencies for various reasons.
He mentioned that the first project with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was initiated in 2015 with 533 crores of which 115 crores have been availed in 2019 and the project would wind up on 31st March 2027. He thanked JICA for coming forward to help set up the 400 bedded hospital and was hopeful that the project would be successful in letter as well as in spirit. He also said the burning desire of the state government was to provide affordable and equitable health service to its people and therefore called upon all officers to come together as without a hospital, the medical college would be of no use. Y. Kikheto Sema, IAS also said through the workshop, he hoped the members present should work out the work distribution, see what they want the government to do, and also what the JICA team should do so that what is expected is achieved. He said also there are 608 district hospitals, CSCs, PSCs, and primary health centres across the state and called upon the officers and staff of the department to see to the needs of the people, especially in the rural areas and since the infrastructures of these hospitals and centres are in a bad shape, he called upon the JICA team if they could take up such smaller projects too and also put out the offer to any individuals or organization of the state.
Team Leader, JICA Survey Team, Keiko Nagai in her keynote address through a PowerPoint presentation on Preparatory Survey on Nagaland Medical College Hospital Development Project, highlighted the project objective, its component, the target area, Concerned Agencies, preparatory Survey, the three accessibility to be improved for UHC and schedule of the preparation stage for 2023. She also highlighted the JICA and Official Development Aid (ODA) Loan and Applicable Japanese Technology and Experiences for the project.
Professor, Faculty of Chemistry for Medicine, Kagawa University, Prof. Kenji Wada, through a power point presentation highlighted the contents of the lessons one can learn from JICA Advanced Training for AIIMS and relevant Institutes while Medical Human Resources Development Expert, JICA Survey Team, Dr. Yoshihisa Yamazaki and Yukari Oshima explained on the examples of Clinical Training in Teaching Hospital in Japan.
A nine-member JICA Survey Team is participating in the Technical Seminar.
(Maongtemjen, IA)
