The Hindu : Kerala News : `Kerala ideal location for medicine research centre'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 03, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

`Kerala ideal location for medicine research centre'

By Our Staff Reporter

KOLLAM, JULY 2. The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala, B. Ekbal, has said that with the State having been identified to be the habitat for more than 740 species of medicinal herbs, it provides an ideal location for commissioning a medicine research centre.

He was inaugurating the Doctors' Day celebrations organised by the Kollam west branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) here on Thursday.

Dr. Ekbal said that the State unit of the IMA should seriously take up this issue with the MPs of the State and through them impress upon the Centre that such a research centre based in Kerala would be a boon to the nation. He said that the kind of research centre he had in mind would be comprehensive and requiring a minimum investment of Rs. 1,000 crores.

Since 19 out of the 20 MPs from the State were on the ruling side at the Centre, getting sanction for such a plant had become all the more easy, provided organisations like the IMA took the issue seriously, Dr. Ekbal said.

An ancient book on medicinal herbs of Kerala written in Latin had the coconut palm listed on top, he said. "But how many of us are aware of the medicinal properties of the coconut palm''? he asked. He suggested that a proper ad hoc research would definitely produce results that can benefit mankind.

Dr. Ekbal said that looking backing at his stint as Vice-Chancellor, he was constrained to think whether he had made a mistake by crossing over from the medical field to the education sector. He said that the education sector in the State was plagued by such problems and that it appeared quite doubtful whether the sector could ever be effectively revived.

He said that as a result of rampant commercialisation, the health and medical education sectors were in a crisis. Epidemics thought to have been eradicated had returned with vigour in the State. Even dengue fever had claimed 150 lives. Apart from epidemics, Kerala was leading in lifestyle diseases including diabetes and heart problems. While the State was passing through a super speciality culture, the primary health care concept was vanishing, he said.

Dr. Ekbal that said all this had put him in a fix since he had been invited to Pakistan to address a session of medical professionals on `The Kerala health model'. The impression outside the State was that the model health situation for which the State used to be lauded was still alive, he said.

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