6-Jun-2017: ‘Skill for Life, Save a Life’ initiative to promote skill development in the health sector

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare has launched the ‘Skill for Life, Save a Life’ initiative. India enjoys a demographic dividend as more than 65% youth are below the age of 35 years and the Government is determined to seize this opportunity by providing adequate skills and employability to the youth for a strong foundation for continued and sustainable growth. ‘Skills for Life, Save a Life’ Initiative’ aims to upscale the quantity and quality of trained professionals in the healthcare system. Under this initiative various courses are planned to be initiated targeting specific competencies for healthcare professionals as well as for general public.

Skilling the youth enhances the employability and skilled India will help the nation reap rich dividends. This shall reduce the gap between expectations of employment of the youth and the actual job they get. Skill enhances economy of the country, too by reducing the gap between demand and supply of trained and skilled manpower in every field. The potential for skilled healthcare workers and professionals is immense in the country. Such courses ensure that the health sector gets the adequate skilled health workers.

Curriculum has been designed by National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) and AIIMS, Delhi. The Health Minister highlighted that in India 1,324 accidents occur on roads every day and a life is lost every 4 minutes and measures taken in the first 10 minutes can save a life. It was thus announced that the Ministry is initiating its’ ‘Skill a Life, Save a Life’ program by launching First Responder course for professionals as well as general public, to be conducted in Central and State government training institutes from the next month across the country in each district, to empower every single citizen of the country to be the first person to provide first aid and initial care in case of an emergency.

India is working towards the attainment of the global mandate of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for providing affordable, accountable and appropriate health care of assured quality to the fellow citizens, which is possible through substantive and strategic investment in the health workforce. This is part of a larger plan and program for ensuring Universal Health Coverage. This program will provide trained and skilled people by broadening the base to include the community. Through such programs, we create a mass of ‘first responder’ who complements the specialists/experts to fill vacuum of adequate trained professionals.