Telangana Finance and Health Minister T. Harish Rao | photo credit: Mohammad Arif
Health Minister T. Harish Rao said that nutrition kits will be distributed to pregnant women after the upcoming Sri Ram Navami festival to effectively meet the nutritional needs of pregnant women.
He was speaking at a meeting organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day after launching the ‘Arogya Mahila’ program at the Urban Health Center located in Battirajaram Colony, Karimnagar on Wednesday.
Under the ‘Aarogya Mahila’ initiative, comprehensive diagnostic, treatment and health services will be provided to women every Tuesday by an all-women team of doctors, nurses and other support staff at the centre. The program was launched simultaneously in 100 centers across the state.
Listing the state government’s women-centric schemes like Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak, she said the KCR Kit scheme has resulted in an increase in institutional deliveries in public health facilities to around 63% from 30% before its launch.
The state government is implementing several women-oriented schemes to ensure safety, well-being and economic empowerment of women, he said, adding that plans are underway to distribute two nutrition kits to nearly six lakh pregnant women every year. He said that under the first phase, the government started disbursing interest-free loans worth Rs 750 crore to women self-help groups on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
He said that Government Medical College is coming up at Karimnagar with an outlay of Rs 500 crore and it will start functioning from this year.
Civil Supplies and Backward Classes Welfare Minister G Kamalakar, Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Sweta Mohanty, Karimnagar Collector RV Karnan and others were present.
Shri Harish Rao inaugurated Arogya Mahila Pranganam, Radiology Center and additional beds at Mata Shishu Sanrakshan Kendram. He also laid the foundation stone for construction of Critical Care Unit at District Headquarter Hospital.