NGO DMAI gets 'Special Consultative Status'

Disease Management Association of India (DMAI), a not-for-profit organization here focusing on population health improvement in the country has been granted 'Special Consultative Status' by the United Nation's Economic and Social Council at a recently concluded meeting held in UN.

This status is granted to NGOs which have a special competence in and are concerned specifically with only a few of the fields of activity covered by the ECOSOC.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council has 54 member states which are elected by the United Nations General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.

"India is on the verge of building its healthcare system and has a long way to go. DMAI is building the knowledge pool to contribute and convert 'ideas' into 'reality' for healthcare in India. This Special Consultative Status only is an indication of the fact that we are doing things the right way," Rajendra Pratap Gupta, President, DMAI said.

"When I founded this organisation in 2009, the goal was to improve the healthcare of the country through better policies and DMAI has been immensely successful in contributing to the same. All major reforms in Indian healthcare have come through our policy, advocacy initiatives and recommendations," he added.

He said with grassroots understanding of the issues in Indian healthcare, DMAI has become the most influential organisation in healthcare policy and reforms in India.

"Healthcare policies of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government have incorporated the suggestions made by DMAI such as the formulation of the National Health Policy, reforming medical education, Pre-emptive healthcare, child health, mobile health and telemedicine, occupation wellness, chronic disease management," Gupta said.

DMAI's Government Industry Dialogue Initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare aims to address challenges in Indian healthcare with participation from the PMO, Ministry of Communication and IT, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Embassy of the United States of America, besides the healthcare industry.