In the first leg of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s visit abroad, as far as the health sector is concerned, the team from Tamil Nadu seems to have marked up substantial gains for the State, going only by the merit of agreements signed. A swathe of health sector interventions have been envisaged to improve healthcare and parameters of the Human Development Index.
Among the key tie-ups are those with International Skills Development Corporation for skilling the health work force, primarily nurses and doctors. The team from ISDC had already visited training schools in Chennai and was satisfied with the infrastructure even before the Chief Minister’s team left for London, officials said. There is also a proposal to recruit the trained nurses from the State, after they go through their specialised training courses, to work for the NHS in the U.K.
The tie up with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is another agreement that the team, led by Mr. Palaniswami, seems to be chuffed about. Tamil Nadu’s health officials say they hope to harness the famous school’s expertise in vector borne disease control, particularly in the area of malaria and dengue control.