Young Infant Health Assurance scheme soon

Hyderabad, May 25: The Andhra Pradesh government would soon launch ''young infant health assurance '' scheme to provide better health care facilities for infants upto the age of 3 months to reduce infant mortality rate in the state.

Talking to newspersons here last night, state Commissioner of Family Welfare C B S Venkata Ramana said the scheme is being introduced under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). It would be the first of its kind in the country and has been approved by the Union Health Ministry under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

He said as part of the scheme the government would distribute vouchers of Rs 30 each. The parents could go to private hospitals near their residence and get treatment for their infants in case of any emergency.

The Indian Academy of paediatricians and the Indian Medial Association (IMA) have also agreed to extend assistance to the scheme.

Mr Venkata Ramana said the state Health Department would organise workshops in co-ordination with private hospitals in order to involve them in the scheme.

Kits would be distributed to the poor living in rural and urban areas to reduce infant mortality rate.

The current Infant Mortality Rate in Andhra Pradesh was 59 out of 1000 living births. The government aimed at bringing it down to 25 per 1000 living births, he added.

UNI