Rajiv Gandhi University has once more made the state proud and this time not through academics, but by presenting itself as a player in an arena which will transcend well beyond campus. It has entered into a collaborative path which is not limited to the realms of higher education & research, but aims to reach out to people of the state and aid them in fighting a disease which the medical world perceives to be fatal. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Indian Institute of Liver& Digestive Sciences (IILDS), which will now bring the two institutions under one umbrella to implement a community-based project on delivery of comprehensive Hepatitis B Virus medicare in Arunachal Pradesh.

Hepatitis is a major health problem globally with a mortality rate significantly higher than AIDS. With nearly 4 crore people suffering from Hepatitis B and another 0.6 to 1.2 crore people suffering from Hepatitis C, the situation in India is really complicated. And for Northeast and Arunachal Pradesh it is more so due to lack of medical facilities. The difficulty in combating the disease lies in its occult character and slow progress making a majority of people unaware that they are infected. Also, there is lack of awareness of the possible routes of infection that are to be discarded. Vaccination, both for infants and adults are the only preventive measures.

Thus, it is clear that the combative methodology for tackling Hepatitis needs a multipronged approach, and particularly in this part of the country a collaborative partnership is necessary since it will be highly unrealistic for any single stakeholder to accomplish the target alone. And it is heartening to notice how universities all over the world are showing their willingness to play the role of that important stakeholder in these kinds of community involved cases. It’s a kind of breaking free from the stereotype traditional disciplinary academic limitations and engaging directly to shoulder more proactive societal responsibilities. They have long been vital and powerful drivers of innovation and economic development, and are now about to play the offbeat yet novel roles by integrating with the aspirations of the society they are embedded.

RGU has done exactly that. Besides taking care of the curative aspects of the disease through all medical means, the most vital aspect of this 10-month project will be the documentation part which will involve sampling of general population to understand the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus and its characteristics in Arunachal. It was a need felt by  medical fraternity of state for a long time and now it would be far easier to address the problem comprehensively.

It’s a yeoman’s service of a different kind which will also be a feather in  RGU’s crown.