6 days ago
₹194 crore sanctioned for construction of 100 PHCs across State: A.P. Health Minister
As part of strengthening the rural healthcare and infrastructure, the State government has sanctioned ₹194 crore for the construction of 100 new primary health centres (PHCs) across Andhra Pradesh. The move will be grounded under the supervision of the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department, said Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav on Monday.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a newly constructed village health clinic (VHC) in Edigapalli village of Karveti Nagaram mandal in Gangadhara Nellore Assembly constituency, the Minister highlighted that the concept of VHCs were part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2017 vision to create accessible medical care at the grassroots level.
These clinics would be established with financial assistance from the 15th Finance Commission and would be developed to offer diagnostic and treatment services close to people's homes. Each VHC will be provided with Community Health Officers, Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). The VHCs would also benefit the rural people with 14 essential diagnostic tests and 105 varieties of free medicines.
The Minister stated that under the Non-Communicable Diseases 3.0 (NCD 3.0) survey, the target group aged 18 years and above are being screened for conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiac ailments, and cancer. This would allow early intervention and timely treatment, he added. Mr. Yadav highlighted the success of the ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) initiative, and said that life-saving cardiac injections worth ₹45,000 are being supplied free of cost during emergencies. This initiative has directly helped to save 3,918 lives out of 3,200 patients admitted with serious heart-related complications.
Mr. Yadav said that the Central government had okayed 10,032 VHCs for A.P., with funds earmarked from the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions. Alleging misuse of funds meant for the health infrastructure during previous the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy regime, the Minister said that the gross neglect of the sector led to the construction of only 3,000 clinics instead of the targeted number.
Senior officials of the Medical and Health Department, Panchayat Raj and R&B, and leaders of the coalition parties from all over Chittoor and Tirupati districts took part in the event.
