The Centre has provided Rs 600 crore to Meghalaya this year under the National Health Mission (NHM).
This was informed by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar to media persons here.
Pawar in Shillong as part of a two-day visit to take stock of the functioning of the Health Department as well as other central government sponsored schemes in Meghalaya. She held a review meeting in presence of Meghalaya Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh with officials of the Health Department.
According to her, out of Rs 600 crore provided under NHM for Meghalaya, 90 per cent of the fund will be borne by the Centre and 10 per cent from the State government.
“The Centre, through its centrally sponsored schemes, is providing additional budgetary support to supplement the efforts of the State implementation of various health activities,” the Union minister added.
She also informed that under the Emergency Covid Relief Package -1, the budget provided to control the pandemic was Rs 25 crore for Meghalaya and under Emergency Covid Relief Package -2, an amount of Rs 117 crore has been provided to the State.
Pawar also informed that under the 15th Finance Commission, the Central government is providing Rs 150 crore to Meghalaya to strengthen Health Sub-Centres and Health and Wellness Centres.
Giving an account of Health and Wellness Centres, the Union minister said, “Right now nearly 470 numbers of Health and Wellness Centres are functional in Meghalaya. Health and Wellness Centre is a concept where we are focusing on screening and treatment also. In these centres we are also doing primary screening of hypertension, screening for detecting diabetes and screening of various cancers like oral and cervical cancer.”
Mentioning about the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, Pawar said that through this scheme the government is focused to strengthen all primary, secondary and tertiary care. She also mentioned that with a budget of around Rs 64,000 crore for the country, around Rs 150 crore is being allotted for Meghalaya for the next four years.
She also said in terms of implementation of Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY) in Meghalaya, around 18 lakh beneficiaries and around five lakh cards have been distributed.
The Union minister exhorted every eligible beneficiary to come forward and take the benefit of PMJAY, the largest insurance scheme, under which a health cover of Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization is provided to poor and vulnerable families.
Under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) around five lakh IDs have been created. “This helps the patients to take appointments, to get the lab reports digitally it will be helpful for the patients as well as the doctors to take the decisions for the patients,” she added.
The Union minister appreciated the initiative of the Meghalaya government in successful implementation of tele-consultation in the State till date.
Appreciating the efforts of the ASHA workers, Pawar said that around 7000 ASHA workers are providing dedicated service to provide healthcare in hard to reach areas of Meghalaya. She lauded the efforts of the State government in reducing the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in the State through its various interventions.
She specifically appreciated the revolutionary initiative of using drone technology in providing medicines in remote villages of Meghalaya. The minister also appreciated the efforts put in for addressing the issue of high numbers of cancer patients through various anti-tobacco campaigns.
Pawar also met Meghalaya Governor Phagu Chauhan and Chief Minister Conrad Sangma later in the day.
She is scheduled to visit East Jaintia Hills tomorrow to take stock of the implementation of various Centre sponsored schemes.
