Indian-American physicians seek Clinton Foundation help

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic medical organization in the US, has reached out to the Clinton Foundation to collaborate on health issues affecting India.

A delegation from AAPI, representing over 100,000 physicians and medical students of Indian heritage, led by its president Dr. Seema Jain, met former US president Bill Clinton, founder chairman of the Clinton Foundation, in New York last week.

The meeting was in the context of ongoing preparations for the upcoming AAPI Convention in New York in June 2016.

"President Clinton expressed keen interest on AAPI's Obesity Campaign and was appreciative of the healthcare initiatives of AAPI and its members for their ongoing support and collaboration," Jain said after the meeting.

"We at AAPI are looking forward to working with The Clinton Foundation that builds partnerships of great purpose between businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals to work faster, better, and leaner," she said.

"Together we hope to work towards finding solutions that last, and will transform lives and communities from what they are today to what they can be, tomorrow," Jain added.

The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), a separate, affiliated entity, works to strengthen in-country health systems and improve global markets for medicines and diagnostics - ensuring lifesaving treatments and care can reach the people who need them the most.

CHAI's goal is to transform these systems and ensure they develop into self-sustaining methods of providing low-cost, high-quality care.

According to Dr. Jain, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is expected to continue to lead a campaign for safety and creating awareness on the need to prevent trauma and brain injury initiated by AAPI during the last Global Health Summit in Mumbai.

"Amitabh Bachchan is a real life superhero to millions, including myself, so it's no surprise that he is the perfect person to be the face of AAPI initiative in this very important area," she said.

An AAPI delegation was in India recently to plan events and collaboration with various government departments, educational institutions and corporate leaders for a productive and successful GHS 2016 in Mumbai, India.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)