Govt to prioritise free drug policy: Health Min
SHILLONG: The state government is keen to take the state to the top of the charts of the health index report published by the NITI Aayog.
In the latest report released by the NITI Aayog, Meghalaya ranked third among the smaller states on the health index chart.
Health and Family Welfare Minister, AL Hek said the first thing that Meghalaya needs to do to improve its ranking is to implement the free drug policy.
Meghalaya has been placed below Mizoram and Manipur among the smaller states.
The government will accord top priority to implementing the free drug policy to achieve the desired ranking, Hek said, adding that once the policy is in place the benefits will reach out to the masses, especially to those who require it the most.
According to the Health Minister, the government would also emphasize on achieving the target of total vaccination against both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
“We need to aggressively take it up in all nooks and corners of the state and more importantly in rural areas,” said Hek.
He, however, lamented that people in rural areas stay away from vaccination and this has to be countered with proper awareness and reach out programmes in order to make them aware of the threats that lurks from both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
“We will have to improve our services and the rankings will be better. Until and unless we are able to facilitate services as per the need of the people, the ranking will not be of any significance,” the minister added.
