100 Ideas that Transformed India by Dr Dinesh C Sharma
Dr Dinesh Sharma, a prominent science and health journalist and a regular columnist in British Medical Journal, has published a book, “Indian Innovation, Not Jugaad: 100 Ideas that Transformed India”.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan (former chief scientist of WHO and head of ICMR prior to that) says: “Rich and Insightful, this is the most definitive and exhaustive history of innovations in post-independence India.”
17 of the ‘ideas’ belong to the “Health and Medical Research” section, and one of them is “Home-based Palliative Care” in Kerala. The system is described in some detail and says: “Under this program, community volunteers visit patients at home, supplemented by home visits of trained nurses and doctors. Volunteers are trained in performing nursing chores, educating families to undertake care and in spreading awareness. They also act as a link between the patient and medical institutions. Local people are encouraged to address the social needs of patients and families, with the involvement of local governance bodies like the panchayats.”
The article also talks about Pallium India’s virtual counseling service (Sukh-Dukh) response to the epidemic of grief in India following the traumatic death of more than half a million people with Covid alone.
Indian Innovation, Not Jugaad: 100 Ideas that Transformed India is published by Roli Books and can be purchased from Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/Indian-Innovation-Not-Jugaad-Transformed/dp/9392130031