Govt for quality healthcare for poor, women, children

[Guest guest]

Govt for quality healthcare for poor, women, children

New Delhi, May 22: Underlining focus on HIV/AIDS, Polio and

affordable and safe medicines, the government on Tuesday said with

National Rural Health Mission, it has set in motion an improved

access to quality healthcare for people, especially those living in

rural areas, poor, women and children.

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh providing leadership in the

control of HIV/AIDS, the emphasis is to make the dreaded disease

everyone's concern.

The government said their aim is to mainstream HIV/AIDS concerns in

programme and schemes across relevant ministries to achieve the

millennium development goal of halting and reserving the AIDS

epidemic by 2011, ahead of the global target of 2015.

" ...Government has approved accessing financial grant of over Rs 300

crore from the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria..., " the UPA

government said in its report card on completion of three years in

power.

Taking credit for 'eliminating' leprosy in some states, as per who

standards, the government said they are now targeting the remaining

few states and added that they are committed to wipe out polio virus

through focused strategy and design in 2007.

Highlighting NRHM that set in motion a series of initiatives in

providing quality healthcare for people, especially those living in

rural areas, the poor, women and children, the government said the

mission seeks to halve infant mortality from 60 to 30 per thousand

live births and ring down maternal mortality rate to 100 per lakh

from over 300 per lakh at present.

Doubling the outlays over the past two budgets for control of

HIV/AIDS, the government said it will be able to meet the 2011 target

by scaling up access to preventive services, counselling and testing

facilities in the general population.

" National AIDS Control Programme phase 3, starting in 2007-08, will

target high-risk groups in all states, " the government said.

Plans are also afoot to expand access to condoms and ensure universal

access to blood screening and safe blood. Apart from that more

hospitals will provide treatment to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS

from mother to child.

Under the NRHM, government said they will be training and hiring

Ashas or voluntary trained community health worker in 18

demographically weaker states.

About 4.35 lakh Ashas have been already selected and over two lakh

trained, while community health centres across the country are being

upgraded as first referral units.

In order to fill the gap in tertiary healthcare infrastructure as

well as facilities for quality medical education in under-served

states, the government has approved Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakasha

Yojna for establishing six new institutions like AIIMS.

Government said the Public Health Foundation of India has been set up

as a new model of public-private partnership to make impact on public

health education.

Also, the government has dropped the term population control and was

now emphasising on voluntary acceptance through awareness and better

access.

Focus has also been given to standardise, regulate and increase

capacity of ayurveda, siddha and unani products.

Bureau Report

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=372808 & sid=NAT