Doctors Link Health to Peace at IDPD Meet

HYDERABAD: The 13th National Conference of Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), held on May 16–17 at IMA Hall, Hyderabad, reiterated that health is a fundamental human right, increasingly denied due to wars, militarisation and diversion of resources away from welfare.

Affiliated with the Nobel Peace Prize‑winning International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), IDPD delegates warned that conflicts in Ukraine, West Asia, Sudan and elsewhere are devastating health systems and displacing populations. Any escalation involving nuclear powers or attacks on facilities such as Zaporizhzhia could trigger irreversible ecological damage, they cautioned.

Speakers condemned the continuing assault on Gaza as a grave humanitarian tragedy, citing the destruction of hospitals and the deaths of thousands of children.

The National Health Seminar highlighted India’s challenges in achieving universal healthcare. Dr K. Srinath Reddy, chancellor of the Institute of Public Health Sciences, noted that insurance‑based systems fail to cover outpatient care, which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of health expenditure, with medicines imposing heavy costs on patients.

Aituc general secretary Amarjeet Kaur criticised new labour codes for marginalising workers, while Dr Ranga Reddy Burri, chair of the scientific committee, said the deliberations centred on advancing health equity and reaffirmed that war remains among the greatest threats to public health.