Pune: The Department of Community Medicine at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), under the aegis of the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services, hosted the Inter Command CME titled "The Armed Forces Conference on Climate Change and Environmental Susceptibility: The Public Health Perspective."
The three-day conference featured speakers such as Dr. Roderico Hofrin, WHO Representative to India, and Dr. Atul Goel, Director General Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. They provided insights into international and national efforts to mitigate climate change impacts.
Maj Gen Atul Kotwal SM, VSM (Retd), Executive Director of NHSRC, emphasized the need for a change in perspective regarding climate change in his inaugural address. Senior Armed Forces Officers, including Lt Gen Arindam Chatterjee, AVSM, VSM, Director General Medical Services (Army) and Col Comdt AMC, released the conference proceedings and chaired the plenary session on disaster management. Air Marshal Rajesh Vaidya, VSM, Director General Medical Services (Air), delivered the keynote address.
The conference delved into sustainability, climate-resilient systems, and the impact of climate change on June 14 and 15. Dr. Dahar Mohammad shared real-life experiences of implementing climate-smart interventions at the primary health care level, while Brig Rajul Gupta (Retd) discussed future food security challenges.
A key event was a panel discussion on public health interventions addressing climate change's impact, featuring experts such as Lt Gen AK Jindal, PVSM, AVSM, YSM (Retd), Executive Director & CEO of AIIMS Raipur, Dr. K Madan Gopal from NHSRC, Col Amitav Banerjee (Retd), Dr. Harshal Salve, Secretary CAPHER-India at AIIMS New Delhi, and Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal from PGIMER Chandigarh.
The conference also included workshops by postgraduate students. These sessions covered topics like integrated vector management, food safety in a changing climate, basic research methodology techniques, and biomedical waste handling, led by Mr. Manjit Singh Saluja from WHO India.
The event featured competitive activities, including "Ideas and Innovations: The Think Tanks," which encouraged participants to develop innovative solutions for combating climate change. Competitions for the best poster and oral presentations on climate change themes saw robust participation. The grand finale was a PG quiz competition, won by the team from Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital.
