PolicyHealth
Nadda lays stone for ICMR high-altitude medicine centre in Himachal's Keylong
The year-round centre in Lahaul and Spiti will study how thin air and extreme cold affect soldiers and the people who live in the Himalaya.
Key points
- Health Minister J P Nadda laid the foundation stone at Keylong on 12 October.
- ICMR is building the centre with the Armed Forces Medical Services.
- Research will cover low oxygen, extreme cold, maternal and child health and drone-delivered medicine.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Monday laid the foundation stone of a research centre in Keylong, Himachal Pradesh, that will study how living and working at high altitude affects the human body.
The ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research is being set up by the Indian Council of Medical Research with the Armed Forces Medical Services. It will serve both soldiers posted in the mountains and the civilians who live there.
The establishment of the Centre reflects the importance accorded to addressing the distinct healthcare needs
What it will study
The centre will build evidence on the health effects of high altitude, low oxygen, extreme cold and a changing climate. Its work will include altitude-related health risks and acclimatisation, maternal and newborn health, child growth and nutrition, and disease patterns in Himalayan communities. Researchers will also test how drone-delivered medicines, digital health and artificial intelligence can bring care to remote areas.
It will grow out of an ICMR field station that has worked in Keylong for nearly a decade, and will run through the year with its own laboratories and specialist staff. AIIMS Bilaspur will study the health of patients visiting the region.
Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of ICMR, said local people would take part in the work.
Keylong will be a place where the laboratory and the community meet, where local people are partners in research
Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur and Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut attended, along with Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja, Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services. No cost or completion date was given for the centre.