Bhubaneswar: After drawing flak for repeated incidents of expectant mothers being rushed to hospitals in precarious conditions, the Naveen Patnaik government Saturday launched Sammpurna Yojana to reimburse transport cost to pregnant women from hard to reach areas.
Reviewing the activities of the National Health Mission (NHM) through videoconferencing with collectors and chief district medical officers (CDMOs), Chief Minister Naveen said `1,000 will be provided as transportation cost particularly to expectant mothers to facilitate institutional delivery in remote and inaccessible areas of the state under Sishu Abong Matru Mrityuhara Purna Nirakarana Abhijan (Sammpurna) scheme.
According to official sources, 7,853 villages covering 30 districts would be covered under the scheme. The move, the government hopes, will benefit more than 60,000 pregnant women annually and cause an expenditure of `6 crore.
Naveen also launched ASHA Kalyan Yojana and a dedicated Welfare Fund for the employees working under the NHM.
Under the ASHA Kalyan Yojana, the state government will provide a minimum monthly incentive of `1,000 to each ASHA worker and pay a onetime honorarium of `10, 000 to serving the workers on attaining the age of 60 years, Naveen said. The government has also made provisions for compensation of `1 lakh for death of ASHA worker under the scheme while the compensation amount for permanent disability has been raised to `1 lakh.
Besides, the state would also provide financial support to enable ASHAs to complete education up to standard X under State Institute of Open Schooling. The government would spend more than `56 crore per annum for the programme intended to benefit over 2,500 ASHAs.
“In the current fiscal, the state will set up 10-bed daycare centres for diagnosis and treatment of different blood related diseases in Balasore, Kandhamal and Rourkela,” the CM announced.
The Chief Minister launched the NHM Employees’ Welfare Fund which provides for compensation up to `6 lakh for death or permanent disability above 80 per cent and compensation up to `2.5 lakh for partial
disability.
“It will also provide for reimbursement of the cost of medical expenses up to `3 lakh in a year for the critical health condition,” said Patnaik. The state has decided to create a corpus fund of `1 crore under NHM budget while employees will have to contribute `100 per annum.
Through the video conferencing, he inaugurated mother and child health building at Kandhamal District Headquarters Hospital, primary health centre (PHC) building at Siddheshwar in Ganjam district, sub-centre building at Kishan Nagar in Cuttack and Urban PHC at Panchapada in Jharsuguda.
Further, 300 sub-centres, four women and child health buildings, 11 primary health centre buildings and three Primary Health Centre (urban) buildings were also inaugurated during the occasion.
