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The World Bank on Friday said it has approved a USD 280 million loan for a health system programme in Kerala to improve the life expectancy and quality of life for 11 million elderly and vulnerable people. The programme aims to treat and support over 90 per cent of patients registered for hypertension and diabetes in the state through individual electronic tracking mechanisms. It will also establish a home-based care model for bedbound, homebound, and vulnerable elderly to provide comprehensive health services. "The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors have approved a new programme to improve the life expectancy and quality of life for 11 million elderly and vulnerable people in the state of Kerala through wider access to health coverage and resilient health systems," the World Bank said in a statement. The USD 280 million Kerala Health System Improvement Programme will build a more comprehensive health system resistant to climate shocks. It will also strengthen Kerala's digita
Odisha joined the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana scheme on Monday, seven months after the BJP came to power in the state. The Odisha government's Health and Family Welfare department signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Health Authority (NHA) in New Delhi to become the 34th state or Union Territory to implement the health assurance scheme. The pact was signed in presence of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and several other dignitaries. Though the BJP-led Centre had urged Odisha's previous government to join Ayushman Bharat, the BJD administration rejected the proposal, claiming that its own medical insurance scheme, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), was better. The saffron party came to power in Odisha in June 2024, defeating the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) which ruled the state for 24 years in a row. The Majhi government has replaced the BSKY with the Gopabandhu Jan Arogya
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj took a dig at the Centre over its Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme on Thursday, claiming that it "exists only on paper". The minister said this during his visit to the Delhi government-run GB Pant Hospital. According to a statement issued by the Delhi government, Bharadwaj visited the hospital to meet patients on the occasion of Diwali, share festive greetings and distribute fruits. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are engaged in a political battle over the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which has not been implemented in the national capital. During his visit to the hospital, the minister reviewed healthcare services and received feedback from patients and their families, the statement said. Bharadwaj noted that approximately 80 per cent of the patients he met were from BJP-ruled states, such as Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, who travelled long distances to seek treatment in Delhi. He
No expert committee has been set up for extending health benefits to cover citizens aged 70 and above under Ayushman Bharat, Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav told the Lok Sabha on Friday. He was responding to a question on whether the government proposed to cover citizens aged 70 and above by expanding Ayushman Bharat through the launch of a national health claims exchange and if an expert panel had been set up to strengthen the format of the scheme for the planned expansion. Jadhav, in a written reply, said all members of eligible families, irrespective of age, were covered under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. The scheme provides health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 55 crore individuals, corresponding to 12.34 crore families, he said. "No expert committee has been set up for extending the health benefits to cover senior citizens aged 70 and above," he stated. Responding t
Stating it cannot turn a blind eye to the medical condition of 40 children suffering from rare diseases, the Delhi High Court has sought the presence of the secretary of the Union Health Ministry before it following the non-compliance of its order directing release of Rs 5 crore for their treatment. Justice Prathiba M Singh, who was hearing a batch of petitions relating to their treatment, said the effectiveness of the medicines already administered to such children would be completely obliterated if further doses are not continued and asked the official to be physically present in court on May 10 when she would consider whether notice of contempt ought to be issued. "The Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare shall physically remain present in Court on the next date of hearing. On the next date, the Court shall consider whether notice of contempt ought to be issued in these matters. List on 10th May, 2023," ordered the court. The petitioners before court are children ...
Digital solutions hold the capacity to revolutionize the healthcare delivery systems and under the visionary leadership of the prime minister, India aims to launch a global initiative on digital health as an institutional framework, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday. This framework aims to converge the global efforts for digital health and scale up digital solutions with use of cutting-edge technologies, Mandaviya said as he virtually addressed the 'Global Conference on Digital Health - Taking Universal Health Coverage to the Last Citizen', a co-branded event under India's G20 Presidency organised by WHO - South-East Asia Region in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. "It is time to move from 'silos to systems' with collaboration of all countries for enhanced coverage and quality of healthcare services," he said. Highlighting the importance of digital health, Mandaviya said digital health is a great enabler in delivery of healthcare services and has the ..
Telangana Health Minister T Harish Rao on Wednesday launched a new health programme for women, named 'Arogya Mahila', on the occasion of International Women's Day. Under the programme, tests would be conducted for women every Tuesday initially in 100 health centres and medicines provided to them free of cost. The women, if necessary, would be sent to 'referral hospitals' for further medical care. Harish Rao, who launched the programme in Karimnagar, said another scheme 'Nutrition kit' would be started for the benefit of pregnant women after the Sri Rama Navami festival to be celebrated later this month. The 'Nutrition kit' would comprise several items, including ghee and protein mix powder, according to an official release. Meanwhile, State Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao and other Ministers, who attended the women's day celebrations at Thorrur in Mahabubabad district, launched distribution of Rs 750 crore of interest-free loans to women Self-Help Groups.