Strengthen health services to check population: PM

By Our Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW, JAN. 31. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today inaugurated five new schemes being launched by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to strengthen medical and health services in the country. The launch took place at a Family Welfare and Health Mela that was simultaneously inaugurated by the Prime Minister to provide the most modern medical facilities to people in Lucknow, his Lok Sabha constituency, by experts from the State as also from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi.

The patients registered at the Mela would be looked after by a team of 500 doctors, 50 of whom are experts from outside the State. They would also be provided medicines free. Those needing care at modern hospitals would be issued necessary passes for the purpose that would be valid for the next three months.

The Health Mela would last five days.

The schemes launched today are: Immunisation Strengthening Project and Scheme for Strengthening Outreach Services, Reproductive and Child Health Services in Urban Areas, Scheme for Linking of Government Medical College Libraries with National Medical Library, New Delhi, Reproduction and Child Health (RCH) Camps and Training of Traditional Birth Attendants (Dais) Under the RCH Programme.

The first of these schemes envisages polio eradication, strengthening of routine immunisation with the aim of raising the percentage of fully-immunised children to above 80 per cent and improving surveillance and monitoring mechanisms. The project is fully donor assisted with the World Bank being the major donor.

Lucknow has been selected to launch the pilot project of the Urban RCH Scheme under the sector investment programme with the European Commission's assistance. The scheme of training of birth attendants (Dais) aims at enhancing the skills and also helping in building their capacities to perform better. The scheme would be implemented in 132 districts of the country of which 33 are located in U.P.

The King George's Medical College Library in Lucknow was linked with the National Medical Library under the Scheme for Linking of Government Medical College Libraries. The facility would gradually be extended to other medical colleges also.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said strengthening of health services alone could convince people to adopt family planning. Population growth could not be checked by force, he said. The only way to achieve population objectives of the country was to properly advise people to ensure their cooperation.

North-South gap

He said that in many areas the gap between the northern and southern States of the country was increasing. This was more so in the field of education and population growth. The northern States should see that this gap was bridged, he said.

Mr. Vajpayee said it was the objective of his Government to improve the health services and create an awareness among the masses to understand national goals.

He called upon the community of doctors to deal with their patients with sympathy and understanding which alone would increase the people's confidence in them.

Mr. Vajpayee later unveiled a statue of ``Nishadraj'' at Dubagga Crossing in old Lucknow. Nishadraj was the king of boatmen who had ferried Lord Ram across the Ganga while he was going to the forests to abide by the orders of his father. The State Government headed by the BJP came up with the idea of installing the statue of Nishadraj some time ago with the apparent objective of giving a positive message to the backward caste boatmen. The unveiling of the statue by the Prime Minister was a significant part of the BJP plans.

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