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Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
PMC intensifies active surveillance for malaria
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) distributed 193 malaria testing kits to Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers on Thursday. They will now take samples of suspected patients from the community as part of active malaria surveillance, said the officials. As per the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), civic health departments are expected to conduct both active and passive malaria surveillance. As part of passive surveillance, patients visiting the outpatient department and fever clinics in civic hospitals are tested for malaria. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO) As per the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), civic health departments are expected to conduct both active and passive malaria surveillance. As part of passive surveillance, patients visiting the outpatient department and fever clinics in civic hospitals are tested for malaria. In Pune city, however, the active surveillance rate has remained critically low at 3 per cent for the last three years. A senior health official from PMC, on request of anonymity, said the civic body has purchased over 200 kits for malaria testing. 'The ASHAs have undergone training to handle and send samples of suspected malaria patients for testing. PMC on Thursday distributed 193 malaria testing kits to ASHAs, as a step to strengthen its active malaria surveillance,' he said. Dr Rajesh Dighe, assistant health officer of PMC and head of vector-borne diseases control programme, said, 'Samples taken during the initial period help us identify the malaria parasites in the blood of the infected patient.' Dr Dighe further informed that there is also a possibility that if there is a delay in identifying the malaria cases, it could be late, and the infection is likely to be spread to other people. 'Intensified mosquito management activities in an area are conducted after a patient tests positive,' he said.
The Hindu
20 hours ago
- The Hindu
ASHAs to take out march for implementation of Centre's incentive hike
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) will march to the office of the National Health Mission on August 20, demanding that the State government immediately implement the hike in incentives and other benefits declared by the Centre. Even though the strike launched by ASHAs demanding a revised honorarium and enhanced retirement benefits has completed six months, the State government did not seem interested in considering the demands raised by ASHAs. Amid skyrocketing inflation and rising living expenses, it was just sheer will power and the courage of conviction that their demands were fair that was helping ASHAs sustain, a statement issued by Kerala ASHA Health Workers' Association said here on Friday. The KAHWA said that it was their relentless fight over the past six months and the incredible public support that they received, that made the ASHA struggle hit national headlines, drawing the attention of Parliament to the plight of the women workers. Though at a much modest scale, the Centre announced a hike in incentives for ASHAs in Parliament and published on the official NHM website also. However, the State government has been maintaining that they have not received any intimation about it. Retirement benefits The KAHWA said that the State government had said many times that it would will hike the honorarium when the Centre increases the incentive. The government should immediately hike the honorarium and declare retirement benefits of ₹5 lakh. It said the ASHAs will continue their strike till the government relented. The KAHWA said that the demands raised by ASHAs remained the same. They are demanding that the monthly honorarium be hiked to ₹21,000 and that the hike in incentives declared by the Centre be implemented. They also demanded that ASHAs are given ₹5 lakh as retirement benefits and are provided health insurance coverage under Ayushman Bharat-Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhati.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Over Rs 1,607 crore released for digital health infrastructure at PGIMER, Chandigarh in 5 years: Centre
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare revealed Friday that over Rs 1,607 crore was allocated and released for digital health infrastructure at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, during the last five years. The government's response came in the wake of a question raised by MP Manish Tewari in Parliament on critical issues and developments in digital infrastructure at the institute. The fund, released under 'Grants for Creation of Capital Assets', was incrementally increased to Rs 350 crore during 2024-25, the Centre stated. Despite these investments, Tewari's query appeared to reveal infrastructural gaps affecting patient care, notably in core facilities and digital systems upgrades. An annexure presented to Parliament also listed the medical equipment procured by PGIMER since 2020. Out of 1,096 items procured for various PGIMER departments, 147 remain non-operational or underutilised, including a significant number of items in neurosurgery and paediatrics. The government acknowledged that 93 per cent of civil works for critical centres — including the Mother and Child Care Centre — are complete but cited delays due to building plan revisions, pandemic-related disruptions, and shifting of service blocks for safety compliance. To address these challenges, approvals have been granted for an Advanced Neurosciences Centre and a Critical Care Block under the PM-ABHIM scheme. Moreover, digital upgrades for PGIMER, such as the transition to Hospital Information System (HIS) 2.0 and the establishment of satellite centres in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, are underway. MP Tewari emphasised the urgent need for a dedicated PGIMER facility for Chandigarh residents, given the massive patient footfall from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to local residents. Referring to recent developments in land allocation for the PGIMER extension in Sarangpur, he urged the Centre to consider a Chandigarh-exclusive facility to fulfil the city's unique healthcare requirements—a proposal he intends to pursue further with Union Minister of Health J P Nadda. Tewari also called for targeted expansions and modernisations at the leading medical institute to ensure world-class healthcare for Chandigarh residents.
