PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday endorsed the state health department’s plan to launch a universal ‘Health Card’ scheme for about two crore school students in the age group of 6-14 years and desired that the scheme be launched by March 22, when the state would celebrate ‘Bihar Day’.
Under the scheme, all school students would be checked for various diseases and given treatment for any ailment they may be suffering with.
Inaugurating a month-long campaign to take healthcare to the doorstep of the common man across Bihar, Nitish said that he was pursuing the goal of ‘vikas ke saath nyay (development with justice)’. “And there can be no development without good health of its people. Mere setting up of industries is not development. We favour human development.”
Under the campaign – Gram Swasthya Chetna Yatra – one-day health camps would be held at a total 10,000 primary health sub-centres and additional health centres to galvanise them into action. Every day, 10 to 25 health camps will be held in each of the 38 districts. At the camps, health check-up of poor people would be done and awareness created about hygiene, family planning and good health practices.
At the follow-up camps later, the doctors would conduct family planning and other operations as well, the CM said.
Nitish recalled when he assumed power in November, 2005, the healthcare system was in a moribund state. “A survey conducted in January-February 2006 revealed that on an average only 39 patients visited a primary health centre (PHC) in a month. The PHCs lacked doctors and other facilities. In the first phase of government intervention, medical colleges, district, sub-divisional and referral hospitals as also block-level PHCs were made functional 24X7. Now, about 5,000 patients visit a PHC every month.”
Asserting that health has been given top most priority under his ‘sushasan’, he extended his compliments for now focussing on toning up of primary health sub-centres and additional health centres. The CM assured health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey and department officials that funds would not be a constraint in the implementation of health schemes. He also asked the department to undertake concurrent evaluation of the impact and benefits of ‘Chetana Yatra’.
Choubey said that he was trying to make `sarve santu niramaya (everyone be healthy)’ a reality. He has formulated a ‘Swasthya Panchsheel’. “We are trying to further reduce infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate, check malnutrition among women and children, control malaria and kala-azar, make immunisation cover 100% and promote community health,” he said.
Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said that the state government was trying to render various services to the common man in a transparent manner through various types of camps.
He lamented that the 13th Finance Commission had stopped funds for the health sector against Rs 250 crore per annum granted by the 12th Finance Commission.
Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary, council chairman Tara Kant Jha and health department’s principal secretary Amarjit Sinha were also present on the occasion.