Punya Salila Srivastava reviews AP's health schemes at Mangalagiri, flags rising burden of non-communicable diseases and urges vigilance on water quality, waste disposal and cancer care

AMARAVATI: Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Thursday called upon State governments to partner actively in the Central government's efforts to eliminate HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, measles, and rubella from the country by 2030, saying the targets were ambitious but achievable with coordinated action at every level of administration.

Ms. Srivastava, who was on a visit to Andhra Pradesh, met senior health officials at the headquarters of the State's Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department in Mangalagiri and reviewed the implementation of various health schemes currently under way in the State.

NCDs overtaking communicable diseases

Addressing officials, Ms. Srivastava expressed concern that non-communicable diseases were increasingly outpacing communicable diseases as a public health burden across the country. She said continuous surveillance was essential to keep this trend in check and called for early detection mechanisms to be put in place so that preventive action could be taken before outbreaks took hold.

She attributed the rise in disease incidence partly to climate change and the declining practice of personal hygiene. On vector-borne diseases such as malaria, she said inadequate disposal of waste was a significant contributing factor, and stressed the need for stricter waste management protocols at the local level.

Water quality and blood banks

Ms. Srivastava underlined the importance of continuous water quality testing as a safeguard against cholera, diarrhoea, and other waterborne illnesses. She also directed that departmental inspections of blood banks be conducted regularly to ensure standards were maintained, and called for greater focus on expanding cancer care services and trauma care infrastructure across the State.

Medical education and innovation

The Secretary urged State officials to make full use of the Central government's offer to increase seats in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programmes, saying the opportunity should not be allowed to lapse.

Earlier in the meeting, State Health Secretary Saurabh Gaur briefed Ms. Srivastava on the implementation of the Sanjeevani health scheme, the 108 and 104 emergency services, and innovations introduced under the Medic Challenge initiative. Ms. Srivastava intervened to note that innovations of this kind should obtain clearance from the Indian Council of Medical Research so that they could be scaled up or replicated with appropriate regulatory backing in the future.

"The State's implementation of health schemes is satisfactory. But we must move from implementation to impact — and that requires constant surveillance, early intervention, and stronger partnerships between the Centre and the States."

— Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary

Ms. Srivastava expressed satisfaction with the overall progress of health department schemes in Andhra Pradesh, even as she flagged areas requiring continued attention and course correction.