Shooter Gauri Sheoran made brand ambassador for Haryana's health programmes

The Haryana government has appointed international shooter Gauri Sheoran the brand ambassador for its two health-related programmes.

The decision was announced by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the launch of the measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign here today.

Under the campaign, about 80 lakh children aged between nine months and 15 would be vaccinated.

The chief minister also flagged off 11 medical mobile units for the campaign.

He directed the officers of the Health Department and the National Health Mission to ensure 100 per cent vaccination under the campaign.

Khattar said that immunization services had been improved considerably in the state as a result of which "Haryana has brought down its infant mortality rate by 6 points - from 43 per 1000 in 2016 to 37 per 1000 live births".

Sheoran has also been named the brand ambassador for Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), an initiative aimed at covering defects at birth, deficiencies, diseases, and development delays including disability.

Under the RBSK, the target beneficiaries are children enrolled in government and government-aided schools and anganwadi centres (AWCs).

As part of the programme, 211 mobile health teams have been going to schools and AWCs everyday.

The screened children are referred to the nearest health facility or the District Early Intervention Centre for further treatment.

As many as 13.9 lakh children have availed treatment services under the RBSK.

Gauri Sheoran, daughter of Haryana IAS officer Jagdeep Singh, had won gold in the 7th World University Shooting Championship held in Kuala Lumpur in March.

She had earlier won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Suhl, Germany.

Sheoran had clinched two gold and two silver medals in the National Championship at Thiruvananthapuram.