Hyderabad, Oct 3 : Union Health Minister and Congress in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad has appealed to demonstrators agitating for the creation of a separate Telangana state, to end their strike as it is causing massive inconvenience to the common people.

"The strike should be called off immediately as it would provide the common people of the state some much needed respite," Azad told the media here.

"If they call of their strike, the people of Telangana will be greatly relieved," he added.

Just after the celebrations of the second anniversary of the decision to decriminalize homosexuality, Ghulam Nabi Azad outraged people for his latest remarks. Azad has shocked the sexual minorities recently by saying that homosexuality is a disease.

Just when the gay and bi-sexual community was on the verge of making changes in the way they were viewed by society, Azad had the audacity to say such a thing. Protest quickly collaborated and began chanting shouts during a flash protest, “Idli sambhar aha hai, Ghulam Nabi luchaa hai, (Idli Sambhar is nice, Ghulam Nabi is a rogue)”.

With juvenile diabetes cases growing in the country, the Union Health Ministry has decided to screen school goers between the ages of 5 to 15 years.

While making declaration about the proposal, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad stated that it would be enforced in six districts on a pilot basis.

As per government sources, the health ministry would shortly pick out a district each from the states including Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, North-East and Andhra Pradesh.

The Administration has comprised a task force to propose the design for formation of a National Surveillance System for antibiotics confrontation.

Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed out illogical consumption of antibiotics and over-prescription of antibiotics are helping features for anti-biotic confrontation.

Union Health Minister Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad has informed that the central government is planning to set up a task force which can look out issues in the pharmaceutical industry of the country. There has been a huge growth in the pharmaceutical industry of India in recent past.

Some of the Indian companies have also managed to acquire a commanding position in the global market place as well. The rising trend in this sector has made the government to set up a special authority.

Fresh guidelines and strategies stipulating screening and testing segment for patients to contain swine flu in the country have been issued by the Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad after finalizing the same in a high-level meeting and discussed protocols developed by the World Health Organization in Geneva, Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Atlanta, USA and National Health Service, United Kingdom and the numerous actions taken by the government for inhibition and mitigation of H1N1 cases considering the escalating swine flu cases across the country.

According to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, malnutrition is not a major cause of death among babies as a report shows that only 2% children die of it in the country.

Azad said, "As per the latest available data with the Registrar General of India (RGI) for 2001-03, two percent of the total infant deaths were due to malnutrition."

But, the minister said that malnutrition may raise morbidity as well as mortality by cutting resistance to illnesss.

All the state governments have been sent written request letter by the health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, to use H1N1 vaccines allotted to them.

Azad said that all the states are requested to fully utilize the H1N1 vaccine stock, at the launch of India's first indigenous vaccine for the H1N1 flu strain.

Indian government had no indigenous vaccine till few days back, so they have imported all the vaccines in February to meet the demand. The minister has been informed that only 8 states have utilized the vaccine that too up to 50% of the stock allotted to them.

Doctors prescribed various expensive tests to the patients describing no sufficient reason for the test which lead to various confusions. Observing these patterns of doctors, Union health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that doctors are not allowed to order for expensive lab test, they will have to describe proper and justified reason for the same.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Health Minister on Friday express that India has frightening proportions of diabetic patients and has promised to launch a programme for effective control of the disease.

A health camp was organized by Congress MP from Mumbai North Sanjay Nirupam, which is inaugurated by Azad and after inaugurating, he said that diabetes is the major obstacle in the treatment of other diseases. The diabetes control program provides opportunities to the patient to undergo diagnostic tests for the disease in the next two years.

A report of the National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health said that the total number of stroke cases will go up to 17 lakh in 2015 from 12 lakh in 2005.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad said this in reply to a question asked in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Mr. Azad said that the hospital based figures from the country show an increased ratio of young stroke cases ranging between 15% to 30%.

The stroke cases are attended to in the health care delivery system at different stages comprising Community Health Centres and District Hospitals.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, health minister on Tuesday said that after Ketan Desai's arrest by CBI, MCI creditability is under suspicion and government must take appropriate steps to regain its integrity and reliability for regulating medical education in the country. Government has to ensure that this body will be working in a fair and transparent manner.

Azad replied to the calling motion in Rajya Sabha on MCI, that there should be a body like national council for human resources in health which should be responsible for everything.

The administration informed the Lok Sabha that around 41,000 kids lost their lives due to pneumonia in the country in the year 2006.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the data was based on a combined report by two bodies of the United Nations.

The joint report 'Pneumonia The Forgotten Killer' 2006 by United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and World Health Organization figured the number of pneumonia demises of kids aged below the age of five at
41,000.

Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the number of new HIV cases in the country is increasing, with 60,000 new cases reported in the first three months of this year (Jan-Mar 2010).

The minister informed, "A total of 299,513 HIV positive persons were identified during 2009 and 59,447 have been identified between January to March 2010."

Out of the 59,447 cases reported, Karnataka registered the highest number, which stood at 13,243, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 13,212.

During the last year, Andhra Pradesh was on the top with 65,748 cases.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was reported saying that private sector's expansion would be of no use for the health indicators of the country. He stressed on the need for an increased allocation in the field.

He said, "Notwithstanding the tremendous contribution of the private sector in addressing the huge demand for services, the problems being faced in the health sector will not decrease with the further expansion of the private sector."

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare urged upcoming doctors to move towards helping the people residing in the rural parts of the country.

Addressing during the 94th Annual day and Convocation at the Lady Hardinge Medical College, he said, "I invite the young graduating doctors and specialists to join hand with Government and come forward to serve in the rural areas where the real India lives".

Centre's nod to adding 3,791 post-graduate seats in medical colleges does not seem to be the answer to India's healthcare system.

In India there is one doctor per 2,800 people as compared to one doctor per 1,500 according to international standards.

The minister for health, Ghulam Nabi Azad, seems not to be doing much for pushing to increase spending on public health from the measly 0.9 per cent of GDP at present.

Shortage of doctors is one problem and no motivation for going to rural areas where India's population actually resides is other.

India has 748,757 doctors, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told Rajya Sabha on December 1, 2009. He got it wrong.

The Medical Council of India’s Indian Medical Register (IMR) data that he quoted — which had gone up to 7,58,866 on February 28, 2010 — is a cumulative list of all doctors who registered to practice in India since 1933, including the thousands who’ve died, retired or left India.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss various issues relating to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Friday.

Mr. Azad also made a presentation about the proposed modernisation plans for the institute to the Prime Minister.

The issue of number of vacancies and exodus of senior doctors were also discussed in the meeting. About 10 senior doctors from the institute have resigned in the last one year to work in private institutions.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to placate him while discussing the situation at AIIMS after the PM raised his concern over the exodus of senior doctors from the premier institute earlier this month, claimed The Indian Express.

The minister also apprised Singh regarding issues concerning to the AIIMS, including the number of vacancies and exodus of senior doctors to private institutes. At least 10 senior AIIMS doctors are reported to have resigned over the last one year to take up posts in private medical institutes.