"Before 2017, children used to die in UP due to lack of treatment": CM Yogi hits out Samajwadi Party

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)[India], March 2 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday came down heavily on Samajwadi Party (SP) over the "poor condition" of health services in the state before 2017.
Speaking at Legislative Council, Chief Minister Yogi said, "Communicable diseases such as encephalitis, dengue, malaria, Chikungunya and black fungus used to swallow our children. In Eastern Uttar Pradesh, 50,000 children died of encephalitis over 40 years. When Kalyan Singh became Chief Minister in 1997, he started the free medicine program on my recommendation."
Hitting out the Opposition, CM Yogi said, "SP never went to see the children. The majority of the children who died were from Dalit and minority communities. Let us not discuss caste, but poor, backwards, and deprived children were dying for lack of medicines."
He added that all departments today worked together to control encephalitis to a 96 per cent success rate. Dengue is effectively controlled. The Government of India has awarded the UP government for controlling Black fungus and Chikungunya, he said.
Chief Minister stated that a 75-crore scam took place during SP's rule in the state in the Janani Suraksha Yojana whereas the state today boasts 500 advanced life support ambulances on the road.
"Before 2017, the central government wanted to give it away for free, but the SP government refused to take it," Yogi said.
Ayushman Bharat provides health insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh to 10 crore people in Uttar Pradesh. The cashless treatment facility for government employees was unavailable in 2017 but has now been included in the budget, he said.
Yogi said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government implemented Chief Minister Arogya Mela in February 2020. So far, 11,72,29,000 people have benefited from this, he informed adding that arrangements have been made for the treatment of 2,00,770 serious patients as a result of this. The Chief Minister further said More than 11 lakh golden cards have been distributed. Telemedicine services have been connected to 250 Community Health Centers. Teleradiology services are now available at 361 community health centres, CM Yogi informed.
Prior to 2017, Chief Minister Yogi said most districts in the state lacked ventilators. During the Covid period, there were no ventilators in 36 districts; today, ventilators are available in all districts throughout the state, he said.
A total of 36,82,000 children and 10,31,000 pregnant women benefited from Mission Indradhanush in Urrae Pradesh. During the National Creamy Free Campaign, 7,13,00,000 children benefited from this. In 2016, the maternal mortality rate was 197; in 2019, it dropped to 167. The infant mortality rate has decreased from 30 to 28 per thousand. The infant mortality rate has decreased from 45 to 38 per thousand. In UP, institutional delivery increased from 67 per cent to 84 per cent. This work was completed in the health sector, the Chief Minister said.