Climate Change
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya To Review Heatwave Preparedness With Affected States Today
Dr. Mandaviya, on Tuesday (June 20), while chairing a high-level meeting in the national capital to review public health preparedness to deal with heatwave conditions prevailing in parts of the country
New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will review heatwave preparedness with the affected states over a video conference at noon today, informed health department sources. Dr. Mandaviya, on Tuesday (June 20), while chairing a high-level meeting in the national capital to review public health preparedness to deal with heatwave conditions prevailing in parts of the country, said that a team of officers will be sent to states experiencing heatwaves to assist the state governments.
A team of experts from the Union Health Ministry, ICMR, IMD and NDMA will visit the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to support them in public health response measures to address heat-related illnesses, the minister said.
Also Read: Heatwave Conditions: Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya To Chair Meeting On Public Health Preparedness
Underscoring the importance of sturdy and timely preparedness through awareness and early actions, Dr Mandaviya has also directed ICMR to conduct research on how to minimise the effect of heat waves on health, with specific short, medium and long-term action plans.
The Centre has taken timely measures ahead of the summer season to address the heat wave-related illnesses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to review preparedness ahead of the summer season in March while the Union Health Ministry issued a heat wave advisory in February where States were advised to review health facility preparedness in terms of essential medicines, intravenous fluids, packs, ORS, drinking water as well as dissemination of necessary IEC materials, he added.
As per the Ministry of Health, during the meeting, Dr Mandaviya was briefed on the status of heat waves in various states and about the preparedness of Central agencies in terms of the availability of required supplies and hospital infrastructure to provide timely and effective healthcare services.
He was also apprised that daily surveillance on heat-related illness under National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) has been ensured in all states and districts on the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) and all the health facilities have been asked to participate using P-form level login, the ministry said.
The Union Health Minister asked IMD to issue daily weather forecasts in a manner that can be easily interpreted and disseminated.
Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), Dr Rajiv Bahl, NITI Aayog, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), along with India Meteorological Department (IMD) experts were also present at the meeting.
Many people are suffering from the scorching heat across the country.
On Monday, two persons amid soaring temperatures in the Gaya district of Bihar died at Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College, the hospital informed. A total of 58 patients were admitted at Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College on Monday.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.