Southern States - Kerala   

Centre clears health project for WB aid

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM MARCH 21. The Union Government has cleared a Rs. 810-crore scheme for infrastructure development in the health sector for World Bank (WB) assistance, the Health Minister, P. Sankaran, has said.

At a press conference here today, the Minister said the project would focus on development of district and taluk hospitals and community health Centres. The Centre had agreed to put up the project for World Bank assistance after much pressure from him.

Mr. Sankaran said that a separate project of Rs. 127 crores was under consideration for the development of medical colleges. Besides, it had submitted a Rs. 42-crore project for Nabard assistance yesterday.

He said that money would not any more be a problem for development of the health sector in the State. Steps had been taken for improvement of the facilities at the medical college hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. A plan was being worked out for disposal of medical waste from all Government institutions in the State.

The Minister said the revised national tuberculosis control programme would be extended to private sector also. Already, Government and private hospitals in Kannur district were implementing the programme. This would be extended to private hospitals in other districts also with the help of voluntary agencies. He said hospitals were now practicing a ``directly observed treatment short course (DOT)'' for treatment of the diseases. In Kerala, 90 per cent of the patients treated under DOT had been cured.

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