New Delhi, Delhi, India : Sangath in association with the University of Chicago, Bucksbaum Institute of Clinical Excellence, Kasturba Medical College (Manipal) shared the draft competencies prepared as a part of the TransCare Med-Ed project in a two-day national conference being organized in Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi on 5th and 6th of May 2022.
Sangath in association with the University of Chicago, Bucksbaum Institute of Clinical Excellence, Kasturba Medical College (Manipal) shared the draft competencies prepared as a part of the TransCare Med-Ed project in a two-day national conference being organized in Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi on 5th and 6th of May 2022. Through a systematic, participatory, and inclusive effort, TransCare Med-Ed has developed a set of draft trans affirmative competencies on trans-affirmative healthcare in India. For this a series of consultative stakeholder workshops were conducted in Delhi, Manipal and Bhopal.
The conference invited trans people, medical professionals, advocates and researchers from all across the country to discuss the rich diversity of lived experiences with respect to the medical system. The conference explored the narratives of marginalisation within the system, the possibilities of inclusion and how we can work towards structural change for making the health system an affirming space for transgender people.
After the development of the competencies in these workshops, the project reviewed them for which the conference plays an important role. The TransCare Med-Ed National conference on May 5th and 6th aimed at disseminating and discussing these competencies, highlighting best practices and building consensus on the way forward. The conference was organized in partnership with USAID, SAATHI, UNDP and PEPFAR.
The draft competencies were released by the TransCare team comprising of Prof. Aniruddha Hazra, University of Chicago; Dr. Aqsa Sheikh, HIMSR; Dr. Khan Amir Maroof, UCMS; Dr. Satendra Singh, UCMS and other team members. The opening session had formal remarks from Sangeeta Patel, Health & Population Office (India), USAID, India; Mr. Dennis Curry, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP (TBC); Dr. M.D. Singh Tyagi, Joint Director – Research, NHSRC (TBC); Dr. B Srinivas, Assistant Director General (Medical Education), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Dr. Shobini Rajan, Deputy Director-General, NACO; and other members from NMC and Social Justice Ministry.
The two-day conference hosted important conversations and discussions on issues like challenges in accessing healthcare for trans persons, medical spaces and trans inclusion, moving from challenges to solutions with a focus on the need for capacity building, intersectionality and social determinants of health among trans persons. The conference also highlighted lived experiences of the persons from the transgender and disability community. The conference ended with a panel discussion on way forward and a vote of thanks from the TransCare team.
“We are really happy to have successfully hosted this dissemination event. This is the output of months of hard work and efforts by the team at TransCare MedEd. Making a country’s healthcare system trans-affirmative is the central objective of our project and we are sure this will work towards improving access to healthcare for the trans community by shaping the medical professionals of tomorrow,” said Prof. Aniruddha Hazra, Chicago University.
“There is an immediate need to make our health system trans-affirmative. This work that we have done at TransCare MedEd will be instrumental in shaping the policy discourse around this issue. We thank persons from the transgender community who agreed to participate in the study and share their experiences,” said Dr. Aqsa Sheikh, HIMSR.
“The health care system has a history of being an alienating space for transgender persons. TransCare MedEd is working towards making a structural difference in how medical students are educated and oriented towards marginalized communities. We hope this work goes beyond critique to systematically sensitise medical professionals towards the needs of transgender persons,” said Dr. Kirtana Raghurama Nayak, Kasturba Medical College.
