The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is the parent body primarily responsible for the health of the nation. It attempts to ensure accessible and affordable healthcare for all the people in the country.
For provision of basic healthcare facilities to all its citizens, the government has been initiating and implementing various healthcare schemes and programmes aimed at improving and sustaining the health index of the nation. The Ministry supervises and coordinates the functions of the departments of Health and Family Welfare, AYUSH, health research and AIDS control.
India has been passing through a period of remarkable growth over the past few years and is now poised for accelerated growth and development in the decades ahead. The government is currently engaged in a programme of skill development to facilitate the transition to a high growth trajectory.
Improvement in the national health index is an important pre-requisite for any programme intended to improve productivity, given the two-way linkage between economic growth and health status. The government is committed to implement the national health policy aimed at improving the performance of health systems. Despite a sophisticated arsenal of interventions, technologies and knowledge required for providing healthcare to the people the gaps in health outcomes continue to widen.
Oral health is an important component of overall health and quality of life. To improve the national health index, we need to improve oral health of the people.
The oral health scenario in the country is poor owing to lack of awareness about oral health and hygiene, poor accessibility and availability. More importantly, the skewed distribution of oral healthcare service providers has led to regional disparities in oral health.
I understand the Indian Dental Association has developed a uniform system of registration that provides authentic data of the dental personnel resources available in the country at a point of time. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Dental Council of India have endorsed utilization of the system and a few state dental councils have already begun implementation. It`s the first step in the direction of oral health policy planning.
It augurs well in our endeavour to create a healthy India
Welcome to the exciting dental website of the Government of India. The government is very much committed to improving the national health index in the country. Oral health is integral to overall health and quality of life. Improvement in oral health is a essential condition in its effort to improve the general health index of its people.
Till now oral health planning was handicapped by the absence of any precise number of dental healthcare personnel available in the country. Regardless of the annual availability of nearly 25000 dental graduates from as many as 300 dental colleges in the country, there was no authentic and accurate account of the number of dental professionals available at a point of time for effective utilization and oral health planning. In the absence of any precise number that can be verified, the actual number indicated often has been an approximation.
I am happy that the Indian Dental Association has prepared a web-based software system of online registration of dental healthcare professionals in the country. It provides categorisation of dental professionals according to speciality, gender, State and location at any point of time, besides online management of data by the stakeholders, i.e., GOI, DCI, SDCs, and State Governments. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and the Dental Council of India have since accepted the online registration system. The State Dental Councils have been advised to utilize the system developed by IDA with suitable modifications that may be warranted so that a uniform pattern of registration of dental healthcare service providers would be in place and can be accessed by all concerned.
The system developed by IDA being a web-based management module, various other management functions, such as continuing dental education and dental practice accreditation, integration of oral healthcare services with the existing health infrastructure, including developing ancillary personnel like health hygienists and other support staff, can be performed.
I would like to profusely thank the Indian Dental Association for its assistance in the preparation of the web site.
The Minister of Health and Family Welfare holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The current minister is Shri. Jagat Prakash Nadda.[3] The Ministry regularly publishes the Indian Pharmacopoeia since 1955 through Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) an autonomous body under the ministry for setting of standards for drugs, pharmaceuticals and healthcare devices and technologies in India.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is consistently making efforts to improve the health of the nation and the quality of life to realize the government's dream of establishing Swachh Bharat. Oral health is integral to overall health and oral diseases share certain common risk factors with chronic systematic ailments. The oral health scenario in the country is poor owing to lack of awareness compounded by poor accessibility and affordability.
Our focus is on universal health coverage to build healthy India to improve quality of life and to facilitate growth.
I compliment the efforts made by the Indian Dental Association in initiating numerous oral health programmes aimed at improving oral health in the country as a pre-requisite to improving general health and quality of life.
