Karnataka govt to launch 15-day health campaign to mark PM Modi's birthday from Sept 17

Karnataka [India], September 16 : Karnataka government is taking up a massive 15-day health campaign starting from Saturday, September 17, which happens to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, till October 2, Gandhi Jayanthi.
According to Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar, the initiative is aimed at catering to and creating awareness among the people of Karnataka starting from kids to elderly citizens.
The campaign will be inaugurated at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Minister Sudhakar held a video conference with DHOs of all districts and all top officials of the Health and Medical Education Departments on Friday.
Speaking at a video conference, Dr. Sudhakar provided instructions to focus on screening various health parameters and diseases during the 15-day campaign in all health facilities starting from primary health sub-centers to super specialty hospitals.
Various tests including Anemia, Thyroid, Audiometry, cataract and other non-communicable diseases will be carried out.
Additionally, the campaign will push to vaccinate children, increase the rate of vaccination for the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine which is currently at 20%, encourage blood donation and organ donation pledges, distribute Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka cards and raise awareness about the importance of general check-ups and regular testing for non-communicable diseases. Also, the government plans to provide spectacles to old persons suffering from vision issues.
"There is very little awareness among people about many diseases, government schemes, and testing facilities at PHCs. A person might feel that they are fit just by their appearance, but, awareness needs to be created that they need to get tested for diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Awareness must also be created about the facilities provided by the government at health centers", Sudhakar said.
Minister Sudhakar further stated that the screening for NCDs is very low at around 30% and this will have to be increased to 100% by December. He instructed the officials to ensure that people are screened for NCDs during the 15-day campaign. Additionally, he instructed the officials to set targets for each ASHA worker to convince and bring in people to get screened for each disease.
Sudhakar also stated that the number of cancer cases is on the rise and people must be screened for cancer wherever such facilities exist. He stated that women above the age of 30 must be brought in for breast cancer screening and further encouraged to get tested for breast cancer every five years. This will greatly reduce the number of preventable deaths, he added.
Sudhakar provided a novel solution to involve NGOs and other voluntary organizations to mobilise people for screening pop and tests.
The target is to distribute 1 crore Ayushman Bharat cards.
Currently, a total of 35 lakh Ayushman Bharat cards have been distributed in Karnataka. Sudhakar said, "by the end of the campaign an additional 65 lakh cards have to be distributed to reach a target of 1 crore which will catapult Karnataka to the top place in the entire country".
Many women in rural areas have a feeling that all the work they do in the entire day is good enough to maintain their health, however, this is wrong. They must be educated about the benefits of performing yoga, meditation, and pranayama. He instructed officials to rope in yoga teachers and organizations to conduct free classes during the 15-day campaign.
Health Department Principal Secretary TK Anil Kumar who spoke at the video conference stated that there are a total of 248 blood banks in the state and they will be instructed to increase blood collection.
The Union Government has recently launched the new TB-free India initiative where the government has encouraged public participation.
As per the new scheme, any individual can adopt a TB patient where they would contribute to the medical and nutritional needs of the patient. Karnataka has a total of 36,000 TB patients and 31,000 patients have consented to be included in the scheme.
He also instructed officials to ensure maximum patients provide their consent to be included. He suggested officials to try and encourage corporate companies to adopt such patients.
Speaking at the video conference, the Minister stated that special attention needs to be given to infant mortality and maternal mortality. He instructed officials to conduct a death audit of all maternal deaths.
Additionally, Minister Sudhakar asserted that eye testing must be done for kids aged 8, 9, and 10 years.