Mandaviya tells states to ensure timely utilisation of central funds

New Delhi: Urging states and Union Territories for timely utilisation of central funds, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday that timely utilization of Central pool funds would help in strengthening the healthcare infrastructure and expediting the implementation of people-centric health services at the grassroots.

The Health Minister has also urged states and UTs to accelerate the coverage of precaution dose of Covid-19 vaccines by organising camps at public places under the Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav.

The states have also been advised to widely publicise the availability of heterologous precaution dose of Corbevax vaccine and to organise vaccination camps at public places such as bus stands, railway stations, airports, schools/colleges, pilgrimage routes and religious places to increase the uptake of precaution dose among the eligible beneficiaries.

According to the Health Ministry statement, as on date, 12.36 crore precaution doses have been administered.

"Government of India has been working in the spirit of cooperative and collaborative federalism with states and UTs for creating, expanding and strengthening a multi-tier health infrastructure network across the country," Mandaviya said while interacting virtually with the health ministers of states to review the implementation of various flagship schemes of the government.

Mandaviya also reviewed the progress of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign with specific focus on administration of precaution dose under the Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav.

State health ministers who joined the meet included Rajiv Saizal (Himachal Pradesh), Veena George (Kerala), K Sudhakar (Karnataka), Dhan Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Vidadhala Rajani (Andhra Pradesh), Keshab Mahanta (Assam), Anil Vij (Haryana), Banna Gupta (Jharkhand), Mani Kumar Sharma (Sikkim), Thiru Ma Subramanian (Tamil Nadu), T Harish Rao (Telangana), TS Singh Deo (Chhattisgarh), Brijesh Pathak (Uttar Pradesh), and Prabhuram Choudhary (Madhya Pradesh). Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Manish Sisodia attended the meeting.

Reiterating the prime minister's philosophy of viewing adversity as an opportunity to learn from and build upon our strengths, Mandaviya stated the pandemic has taught us to invest in critical care infrastructure in every district and block.

States and UTs were also advised to ensure that all vaccine doses are utilised on the basis of FEFO (First Expiry First Out) principle to avoid expiry of the vaccines. "Vaccines are a precious national resource and states need to ensure that not even a single dose expires, through meticulous planning and regular review," Mandaviya stressed.