ICMR Director Dr Balram Bhargava conferred with Dr Lee Jong wook Memorial Prize for Public Health

“I do this because serving people is a humbling experience. When I work with patients, I think about how to apply science to alleviate their suffering. This gives meaning to everything else I do.”

Professor Bhargava’s credo is in line with the vision that healthcare must be affordable. “There are health facilities in my country where only the richest can step. I would never wish to work in a place like that. I did not study medicine to make money! I did it to help people.”

“Indians do not need to go abroad for treatment – we have the health solutions here,” he affirms. “Unfortunately, they are not accessible for everyone. This is a huge unfinished agenda that policymakers must address.”

Professor Bhargava believes the responsibility lies with everyone, but that policy-makers must take the lead.

“A doctor treats only one patient at a time. A researcher helps larger groups, as his knowledge and innovation can spread to many patients. A policymaker brings it all one step farther when taking decisions to ensure that the whole population of the country benefits,” he says.

Professor Bhargava has a strong desire to reach vulnerable people. For instance, he led a big study of the cardiovascular health of bus drivers in New Delhi. “It was so obvious we needed to look into the health needs of those young men whose work conditions are tough - heat, crowded vehicles, polluted air,” he says. When the researchers captured the pattern of hypertension and other heart health risks, they found the bus drivers were at much higher risk than average for people of their age. This research led to action to address these health risks.

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