Dispur, February 12 : Health Minister Ashok Singhal today conducted a comprehensive review of the Health and Family Welfare Department’s work at Janata Bhawan. Addressing a press conference following the meeting, he announced several key initiatives aimed at strengthening the state’s healthcare system.
After the successful observance of National Deworming Day on February 10, the state has set a target to administer Albendazole tablets to 87,74,548 children by February 17. This mission covers all children aged 1 to 19 years registered in schools and Anganwadi centers. In the last two days alone, 32,32,988 children have been administered. The campaign spans 41,192 schools and 61,738 Anganwadi centers across the state.
Providing an update on the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme and 100-day TB Elimination Drive, Minister Singhal stated that 4.3 million people were tested for tuberculosis last month, resulting in the identification of 4,000 new cases. Additionally, 21,210 children were vaccinated through the U-WIN portal, launched in January, achieving a 42 percent success rate. Vaccination efforts are also being continued through manual registration.
Minister Singhal revealed that numerous complaints have been received through the WhatsApp grievance number, highlighting issues such as non-availability of medicines in government hospitals, doctors not prescribing generic medicines, and the exclusion of vital drugs from the essential medicines list.
In response, the government has committed to making nearly all essential medicines available in government hospitals within the next 10 days. Additionally, several other important drugs will be included in the essential drug list.To address the shortage of medical professionals in government hospitals, Minister Singhal announced that advertisements for 400 new doctor positions will be issued soon, reinforcing healthcare services across the state.
These initiatives reflect the government’s ongoing commitment to improving healthcare accessibility and quality for the people of the state.
