Mumbai: Maharashtra health department has started screening children in the age group of 0-18 under Ayushman Bhava campaign which has been rolled out in all districts from September 1 to December 31. Under this campaign, 32 tests will be done free of charge for all children. A senior official said that they have instructed all the district health officers to implement some of the activities planned under the programme such as Ayushman Apke Dwar, Ayushman Sabha, Ayushman Mela, screening of school children and Ayushman Gram.
“We have received a circular in this regard from the state health department. Accordingly, we started to implement the program by organising workshops and training the health workers. Moreover, district health officers are given clear instructions to ensure the campaign is implemented smoothly,” he said.
25 crore Ayushman cards distributed across the country
Till date, 25 crore Ayushman cards have been distributed across the country under the initiative 'Ayushman Aya Dari'.
Accordingly, Ayushman Sabha activities will create public awareness of health care facilities. Also, the main objective of this campaign is to create public awareness about Ayushman card and Abha card, to create public awareness about sickle cell, vaccination, tuberculosis, etc.
Health cards to be issued to families under AB-PMJAY
Senior health official from the state health department said that under the Ayushman Apke Dwar, families eligible for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) will be registered. Health cards will be issued to these families under the scheme. The second part of the campaign is Ayushman Sabha, under which awareness activities at the village level about health, hygiene and nutrition will be organised. Awareness activities regarding non-communicable diseases (NCD) screening services, sickle cell disease, immunisation, TB, etc will also be conducted in the district. The third part of the campaign, Ayushman Mela (health camp) will be held on Saturdays and Sundays.
Dr Daksha Shah, Executive Health Officer, said that a special campaign will be conducted for children (age group 0-18) in Anganwadis and primary schools for health check-up. They will be screened for the four Ds, (defects of birth, developmental delays, deficiencies and diseases).