India is on track to achieve the three health sector related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the UN in 2000, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda said here today.
Of the eight MDGs to be achieved by 2015, three were related to health - reducing child mortality, improve maternal health, and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
"India's under-five mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio has declined much faster than the global average," he said.
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"Prevalence and mortality from HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria have also shown a declining trend from the 2000 levels. India achieved polio eradication even when we had half the global burden till as late as 2009," he said.
Nadda was addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony of a Super Speciality Block under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana at the Assam Medical College here.
"Of late, we've been successful in eliminating Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus as well. This gives me immense hope and confidence that several innovations under the National Health Mission have started showing good results", he said.
Over the next three-four years the government intends to work towards comprehensive model for Non Communicable Diseases, he said, adding, under this a massive awareness drive on NCDs and lifestyle diseases is being planned.
"We have covered a lot of ground in the last one-and-half year. The initiatives like Mission Indradhanush, Kayakalp, AMRIT, introduction of new vaccines, steps taken in AIDS control programme, etc, have prepared ground for a big leap forward," he said.
AIIMS are being established in every state in a phased manner and six have already been established under NDA's previous term, he said.
With 960 more beds in each, over 16,300 additional beds would be available in the 17 AIIMS, he said adding super speciality blocks are also being set up in 70 medical colleges while 58 district hospitals are being upgraded to Medical Colleges.
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While work on the new AIIMS project for Assam will start very soon, the government has decided to upgrade district hospitals at Nagaon, North Lakhimpur and Dhubri to the status of a medical college, the union minister said.
Nadda said Rs 189 crore have been sanctioned for each of these colleges and Rs 22 crore have been released to the state government as the first instalment.
Since May 2014, more than Rs 1,567 crore have also been released to Assam under the National Health Mission, he said.
"Disparity in availability of healthcare facilities between rural and urban areas and between states is an issue. Similarly, rising burden of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) is another area of concern," he said.
Under the upgradation project of Assam Medical College Dibrugarh, Super Speciality Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Cardiology, Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS), Burns and Plastic surgery and Pediatrics surgery will be created in the existing Medical College, he said.
This will add 192 beds, 62 ICU beds, five perating theaters and Cathlab to the institute. A similar project has also been approved for Guwahati Medical College, Guwahati.
On the healthcare needs of tea garden workers in Assam, the minister said it was of topmost priority for the Centre.
Assam has around 793 registered tea gardens and, out of these, only 527 - 66 percent - have hospitals, he said.
The Centre is committed to provide affordable healthcare services to the entire population living in and outside the garden areas. Presently, the Centre is providing support to 250 tea gardens at the rate of Rs 7.5 lakhs, he said.
"20 cancer institutes and 50 Tertiary Cancer Care Centres are being set up. National Cancer Institute, Jhajjar, in Haryana and 2nd campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata are also being set up," Nadda said.
