HISTORY
CBCI Office for Health Care was established in 1989 by the Catholic Bishops' Conference
of India to function as the coordinating body of all the health related organisations
of the Church in India. This Office is the forum for discussing various vital issues
of national importance related to health and for planning common action. The office
is to inspire and guide all the health related organizations according to the spirit
of the Catholic teaching, practice and tradition (Report of the CBCI General Body
Meeting, Pune, 1992.)
VISION
Having received the mandate from Jesus Christ, the Divine Healer, to ensure life
in its fullness, and inspired by his compassionate love, the Catholic Church in
India envisages a healthy society where people, especially the poor and marginalised,
attain and maintain holistic well-being and live in harmony with the Creator, with
self, with one another and with the environment.
MISSION
- To provide humanizing care considering the dignity of the person and the needs of
society.
- To ensure promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health care to all,
particularly to the poor and the marginalized through their empowerment.
- To engage in social mobilization of the community by creating awareness on rights,
duties and responsibilities related to health issues.
OBJECTIVES
- To make quality health services available, affordable and accessible to all, especially
in the underserved areas.
- To empower people to plan for their health and health care needs and access their
health care rights.
- To cooperate and collaborate with the government and other agencies to make health
care accessible for all, in accordance with the teachings of the Church.
- To observe all ethical norms according to the teachings of the Church, professional
bodies and just laws of the country.
- To show compassion for all, serve preferentially the poor, the vulnerable and the
marginalised.
- To practice and transmit the Christian vision of care, in a world of commercialised
health care.
- To facilitate spiritual assistance to everyone we serve, according to their faith,
so that the experience of sickness and healing can be transformed into one of personal
growth and development.
- To promote health education, training and research
- To encourage multi-dimensional programmes on promotion of health and prevention
of diseases in communities.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The Health Policy of the Catholic Church in India is guided by the teachings of
the Gospel, the Magisterium of the Church and the Charter for Healthcare Workers.
The principles that guide the involvement of the Church in health and health care
are as follows:
- Keeping in mind the holistic development of the person, in the involvement of the
Church in health and health care, the community health model will be given priority.
- The interventions of the Church will be guided by Article 25 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, that says that all have the right to a standard of living adequate
for the health and wellbeing of themselves and their families.
- The Church will be committed in its actions to provide access to health and health
care facilities and services in areas that lack adequate health care facilities.
- There shall be no discrimination on the basis of age, sex, creed, class, caste,
tribe, religion or other socio-economic, political and cultural realities in the
delivery of services and facilities.
- The policy is guided by the teachings of the Church to serve the poorest of the
poor. Special emphasis will be given to disadvantaged groups like tribals, dalits,
migrants, refugees and the differently-abled.
- The decision-making in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation will
be according to the teaching of the Church, ethically correct and will be based
on complete and accurate technical information.
- Evidence-based medicine will be practiced in health care including the use of rational
therapeutics.