'Medical services of Armed Forces need to devise strategies to counter challenges imposed by advancing battle field technologies'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the medical services of the Armed Forces are expected identify the challenges posed by ever-advancing battlefield technologies and devise strategies to mitigate the adverse health effects.

"Ever advancing battlefield technology has imposed a vast array of previously unrecognised challenges. Newer and non-conventional forms of warfare have further added to the complexity of the existing challenges. What has not changed of course is human physiology and the capability of the human body to withstand and function in such challenging environments," Rajnath Singh said while delivering the inaugural address at the first Military Medicine Conference being hosted by India for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.

 

"The medical services of the Armed Forces are expected to play a vital role in identifying these challenges defining limits of human tolerance and suggesting strategies to mitigate the adverse health effects of such environments," he added.

The Defence Minister said the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare further adds to the complexity of the situation. He also stressed that the medical professional of the Armed Forces are probably uniquely equipped to deal with these deadly challenges.

"An important aspect of military medicine is casualty management strategies. As providers of the combat medical support, it is incumbent upon the medical services to have clear, effective and rehearsed protocol to casualty management industries," he said.

"SCO is the alliance of the East due to its growing centrality in Asia-Pacific and it has also been the primary security pillar of this region. It is the largest organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage and cooperation," Singh said.

The Defence Minister said India has been making positive contributions to the SCO led activities ever since it joined the organisation in 2017.

"The theme of the SCO Congress revolves around combat medical support, humanitarian assistance, and patient safety. These topics have been aptly selected by the organisers as these are very relevant in the modern-day world," he said.