Jaipur: In an attempt to highlight the role of media in public health, Haridev Joshi University organized an international seminar on “Mass communication and the future of global public health” on Monday, at Pink City Press Club in collaboration with the Jodhpur School of Public Health.

Laying emphasis on the marginalised communities and the awareness of mental health, Vice-chancellor of HJU Prof Sudhi Rajiv said, " Mass communication and public health go hand in hand, especially when it comes to sharing important information on a large-scale level. Being able to communicate with the public at large effectively, allows key stakeholders to minimize damage and prevent widespread illness and disease. Journalists should prioritise reporting on mental health issues with verifiable information which keeps the public notified and allows them time to take the appropriate action".

Ms Aparna Sahay former member secretary Rajasthan state women’s commission who was the chief guest highlighted the positive changes in mortality rates, the water issues in rural Rajasthan and the things to India can do as it takes the G-20 presidency next year.

Highlighting the importance of communication in public health, Anil Purohit, Founder and CEO of Jodhpur School of Public Health (JSPH) said, "If you don’t communicate no one will understand you while highlighting the importance of communication. Without media, we would have lost a lot more lives than we did in Covid-19. The media helped to disseminate information and battle with disinformation".

Another speaker JVR Prasad Rao former Health Secretary with the Government of India laid emphasis on interpersonal communication. "Mass communication itself can not achieve the goals without person-to-person communication. Media need to develop material which targets the ICE ( information, communication and education)", said Rao, who was also a former Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on AIDS,

Jagdish Harsha, Founder and CMD of Mobiloitte Technologies gave a presentation on the blockchain, VR, AR, AI and metaverse. He talked about the future of the medical sector and futuristic journalism and the role of 5G and the metaverse in it.

Gregory Fant, public health epidemiologist and a civil servant with U.S. Government. V. Vishwanath, director of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health India Research Center and Roy Wadia, communications and media professional, and communications Lead At WHO, Europe addressed the conference in online mode.

At the concluding session, the Jodhpur School of Public Health inked an MoU with Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication. The MoU aims at joint initiatives between the two institutes, student exchange research and national-level projects in the field of communication and public health.

The seminar was attended by more than 250 participants including journalism students from several colleges, media educators and those associated with public health.