Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday said the government will focus on cervical cancer vaccination, opening new medical colleges and extending Ayushman Bharat cover to ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and Anganwadi workers.
“Our government will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of 9 to 14 years for prevention of cervical cancer,” Sitharaman said in her interim budget speech.
Currently, the vaccine is available only in private hospitals and costs up to ₹4,000 per dose.
The finance minister also announced the government’s plan to establish more medical colleges in the country.”Several youths are ambitious to get qualified as doctors. They aim to serve our people with improved healthcare services. Our government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilising the existing hospital infrastructure under various departments. A committee for this purpose will be set up to examine the issues,” she said.She added that various schemes for maternal and child care will be brought under one comprehensive programme for synergy in implementation.The finance minister announced the upgrading of Anganwadi centres under Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, which she said will be expedited for improved nutrition delivery, early childhood care and development.
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