Stories
Nadda to lay foundation for India's first high-altitude medical centre in Keylong
- •Union Health Minister J P Nadda will lay the foundation stone of the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research in Keylong, Himachal Pradesh.
- •Located in the Lahaul and Spiti district, this facility is India's first dedicated research centre addressing public health challenges in high-altitude and extreme conditions.
- •The centre will focus on diverse research areas including mountain medicine, climate-sensitive diseases, maternal and child health, mental health, and disaster medicine.
- •It will leverage digital health platforms, telemedicine, and drone-enabled logistics to enhance healthcare delivery in remote Himalayan regions.
- •The initiative aims to foster collaborations with the Armed Forces Medical Services and national institutions to support translational research and evidence-based policymaking.
Key Questions Answered
The ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research is aimed at strengthening biomedical research and healthcare preparedness in the Himalayan region. It will focus on public health challenges arising from high-altitude conditions, extreme weather, difficult terrain, and climate variability.
The facility will research high-altitude physiology and acclimatisation, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive and emerging diseases, infectious and non-communicable diseases, and maternal and child health. Additional areas include nutrition, mental health, environmental and occupational health, and disaster medicine.
The centre will explore using digital health platforms, telemedicine, drone-enabled healthcare logistics, and real-time public health surveillance to improve delivery in hard-to-reach areas. It will also facilitate long-term field studies on environmental conditions and health outcomes while supporting tribal health and disaster preparedness.
