Mumbai: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs 15,000 crore for ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’.
The sanctioned funds will be used in three phases and for immediate COVID-19 emergency response, a provision of Rs 7,774 crore has been made and medium-term support (1-4 years) to be provided under the mission mode approach.
While briefing media persons about the package here on Wednesday, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the main objectives of the package are to slow down and limit COVID-19 in India through the development of diagnostics and COV1D-dedicated treatment facilities strengthening and building resilient national and state health systems to support centralized procurement of essential medical devices and medicines, support for prevention and preparedness for future disease outbreaks, to treat infected patients.
The package will help laboratories and booster surveillance activities, biosafety preparedness, epidemic research, and communities to actively engage and conduct risk communication activities.
Javadekar said that these interventions and initiatives would be implemented under the overall umbrella of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
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In the first phase, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with all other ministries, has released additional funds of Rs 3,000 crore under the package to the States / UTs. Existing health facilities in the form of COVID dedicated hospitals, dedicated COVID health centers, and dedicated COVID care centers.
“The network of diagnostics laboratories has expanded and our testing capacity is increasing every day. In fact, under the National TB Eradication Program, purchasing 1.3 million diagnostic kits, taking advantage of existing multi-disease testing platforms The orders are placed to extend COVID 19 tests,” the government said in a statement.
All health workers, including community health volunteers such as ASHAs, are covered with insurance under the “Prime Minister Poor Welfare Package: Insurance Scheme for Health Workers COVID-19”. Personal protective equipment (PPE), N95 masks and ventilators, test kits, and medicines for treatment are being procured by the center.
According to the statement, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was authorized to re-appropriate resources between the components of the package and various implementing agencies – National Health Mission, Central Procurement, Railways, Health Research Department / ICMR, National Center.
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