Dr Bharti Kashyap’s national leap: Elected IMA honorary joint secretary unopposed
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK Ranchi/New Delhi, September 1: Jharkhand ophthalmologist and social activist Dr Bharti Kashyap has been elected unopposed as Honorary…
Dr Bharti Kashyap
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi/New Delhi, September 1: Jharkhand ophthalmologist and social activist Dr Bharti Kashyap has been elected unopposed as Honorary Joint Secretary of the IMA Dr AKN Sinha Institute for the 2026–2028 term, giving the state representation in the national leadership of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
According to the results announced by the IMA Chief Election Commissioner, Dr Kashyap is among the 55 members of the IMA’s central national leadership team. She is also one of four women doctors elected to national-level positions in the latest election.
Focus on women’s health and cervical cancer
Dr Kashyap said her new responsibility would provide an opportunity to strengthen the voice of the medical fraternity and push healthcare initiatives at both the policy and grassroots levels.
She said the role would also help give fresh momentum to initiatives related to women’s health and cervical cancer elimination.
Dr Kashyap previously served as National Co-Chairperson of the IMA Headquarters’ Women Doctors Wing from 2022 to 2024 and currently heads the IMA Jharkhand Women Doctors Wing.
Jharkhand model for cervical cancer screening
One of her major initiatives has been the ‘Jharkhand Model’ for cervical cancer prevention, launched in 2021 in line with the World Health Organisation’s strategy.
The low-cost ‘screen-and-treat’ approach combines screening through Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) and immediate treatment through cryotherapy, particularly targeting women in rural and tribal areas and those in high-risk groups.
According to the organisation, nearly six lakh women of reproductive age had been screened across Jharkhand by May 2026, exceeding the state government’s initial target of 2.7 lakh.
Dr Kashyap also helped equip 14 government hospitals with digital video colposcopes and cryotherapy units and facilitated specialised training for women doctors working in government hospitals.
IMA-NHM partnership
Her efforts also contributed to an IMA Jharkhand Women Doctors Wing partnership with the National Health Mission in 2025. The organisation described it as the first official non-financial partnership of its kind between an IMA state women doctors’ wing and the NHM.
The initiative was aimed at integrating cervical cancer screening and prevention efforts into the government healthcare system.
25 lakh schoolchildren screened
Dr Kashyap has also been associated with large-scale eye-care initiatives. According to the organisation, vision screening has been conducted for more than 25 lakh government schoolchildren under initiatives led by her.
She also facilitated the first reported posthumous eye donation and corneal transplant in the undivided Bihar-Jharkhand region in 1996. Since then, the Kashyap Memorial Eye Bank has overseen nearly 1,100 corneal transplants, according to the organisation.
Her election to the IMA national executive is being seen as a significant representation for Jharkhand in the country’s apex professional body of doctors.
