Inclusive India Summit 2024

As part of the 150 years of the work of The Leprosy Mission Trust (TLM), the Inclusive India Summit 2024 was held on 14 November 2024. The event aimed to bring together diverse stakeholders from healthcare, technology, public policy, grassroots organisations and media to discuss critical public health challenges in India. Convened by the TLM, in collaboration with InditeGlobal, in New Delhi, the Summit served as a platform for thought leaders, policymakers, researchers, healthcare professionals, and innovators to engage in meaningful conversations around the future of healthcare in the country, focusing on innovation, equity, inclusion and sustainability. It helped to exchange knowledge, discuss strategies, and drive impactful health solutions with active engagement of participants from cross-cutting sectors—Climate Change, WASH, Public Health, Research, Policy Advocacy and Disability Inclusion.

The main objectives of the Summit were as follows:

• Propose actionable policy recommendations for improving public health systems
• Designing new research and generating specific evidence for policy advocacy
• identifying new opportunities for interventions on clinical, social, environmental, and legal aspects of leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
• Improving understanding of disability inclusion in all spheres of life and opportunities that lie ahead of us.

With distinguished line-up of speakers from diverse fields, grassroots NGOs, and government departments, the Summit facilitated cross-pollination of ideas. It showcased some of the local initiatives and best practices demonstrating the potential for replication and scaling up. The Summit helped amplify the voices of vulnerable and marginalised communities, including persons with disabilities, and bring forth real-world challenges and solutions for effective public health interventions. Well aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on good health, clean water and sanitation, climate action, reduced inequalities and inclusive societies, the Summit created a collaborative environment to shape future policies and healthcare solutions for India’s growing needs. Further, the experts in their deliberations stressed on the need for designing new research and generating specific evidence for policy advocacy and identifying new opportunities for interventions on clinical, social, environmental, and legal aspects of leprosy and other NTDs. More than 90 participants representing various organisations, including media, attended the programme.