Sampat Ramteke
Sampat Tukaram Ramteke was an engineer and social activist from Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. In 2018, he was conferred the Padma Shri civilian honour posthumously, for his contribution in raising awareness in India about the sickle cell disease.
He brought into notice Sickle Cell Disease as a serious health concern along with the societal issues faced by patients and their families in India. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had also informed Lok Sabha about the work and awareness created by Sickle Cell Society of India for Sickle Cell Disease in India.
Education and career
Shri Sampat Ramteke received Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Government Polytechnic Nagpur. Later he worked at Western Coalfields Limited Ministry of Coal, Government of India and retired in 2009 as Superintending Engineer.Social activism
Sampat Ramteke is considered a torchbearer of the movement to raise awareness of sickle cell disease. He began this work when his son Harshal was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 3. In 1991, he founded the Sickle Cell Society of India and worked towards raising awareness of sickle cell for over three decades. Due to his efforts, more than 15 government resolutions were passed to help patients with sickle cell. Most notably, patients with the disease came to be included in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.He organised more than 250 sickle cell awareness and blood investigation camps with his colleagues in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Kerala and various districts of Maharashtra. He worked with the States of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh on the preparation of action plans in 2003 and 2007 respectively. He worked on the creation of informational materials on the disease for the National Rural Health Mission.