Nadda to lay stone of ICMR's high altitude health research centre in Himachal's Keylong

Shimla: Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda will lay the foundation stone of the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research (ICMR-CHAMP) in Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh on Monday, officials said on Sunday.

The Centre is being established by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Department of Health Research of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to strengthen multidisciplinary research, innovation and capacity building focused on India's high-altitude and climate-sensitive regions.

The Himalayan ecosystem presents distinctive public health challenges arising from high altitude, extreme climatic conditions, difficult terrain, geographical isolation and increasing climate variability.

These factors influence disease patterns, healthcare access, occupational health and emergency response.

The centre will strengthen scientific evidence generation and the development of context-specific, scalable healthcare solutions for people living and working in these challenging environments.

The centre's research mandate will encompass high-altitude physiology and acclimatisation, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive and emerging diseases, infectious and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, environmental and occupational health, and disaster medicine.

It will also explore the integration of digital health platforms, telemedicine, drone-enabled healthcare logistics and real-time public health surveillance to improve healthcare delivery in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

The centre will provide an important institutional platform for sustained field research involving high-altitude and tribal populations in a strategically significant border region.

Its location will facilitate longitudinal studies and investigations into the relationship between environmental conditions, climate variability and health outcomes.

The centre is expected to contribute to national priorities in tribal health, disaster preparedness, digital health innovation and the development of climate-resilient health systems, while strengthening India's contribution to global research in high-altitude medicine.

The ceremony will be attended, among other, by Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut.

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