Govt stresses on effective advance preparations to ensure robust Health Infrastructure and efficient Clinical Management of COVID

Union Health Ministry today reviewed preparations under India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package: Phase -2 with States and Union Territories through a video conference. Union Cabinet has recently approved this new scheme amounting to 23 thousand 123 Crore rupees.

This will be implemented from 1st July, 2021 to 31st March next year. During the meeting, States and UTs were requested to send their expenditure proposals at the earliest to enable expeditious approval and sanctioning from the Union Government.

Our correspondent reports that States and UTs were advised to conduct a quick gap analysis for various infrastructure components under this scheme including their IT infrastructure readiness.

This scheme aims to accelerate health system preparedness for immediate responsiveness for early prevention, detection and management with sharp focus on health infrastructure development including Paediatric care and with measurable outcomes. This will help in strengthening decentralized public health actions and public health facilities in rural, peri-urban and tribal areas.

The objectives of Emergency COVID19 Response Package-2 is to support the States to establish dedicated Paediatric Care Unit in all 736 districts of the country for responding to the needs of Paediatric COVID-19 management. During the review meeting, States and UTs were guided on policies and guidelines from Union Health Ministry on different aspects of COVID management which will help them in strengthening their healthcare infrastructure to streamline COVID-19 response. It was also pointed out that procurement of drugs for effective COVID management is an essential component of Emergency COVID19 Response Package-2.