SHILLONG, APR 2: The union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad informed an amount of Rs 280 crores have been sanctioned by the union government for the setting up of undergraduate MBBS medical college, nursing college and regional cancer centre at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) located in Shillong.
Addressing the function for unveiling the statue of Indira Gandhi at NEIGRIHMS on Tuesday, Azad said, “The three projects are in their final stages and will be commencing very soon to improve the capacity set up of the institute in order to provide quality and affordable healthcare in the region.”
Azad said the Rs 280 crores is the amount to be spend on facilities like shortage of manpower in the health sector as well as to ensure better health facilities to the people.
The union government is striving to make NEIGRIHMS a super-specialty hospital so that people from the state and other parts of north eastern states do not have to travel outside to get treatment of different diseases.
Azad revealed that setting up the cancer center equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as latest diagnostic equipments was an afterthought addition which he said will fulfill the needs of the people of the region as far as health care is concerned.
Under the NRHM, the union government has sanctioned a total amount of 5970 crores for strengthening the health infrastructures right from the district community health centres, primary health centres down to the sub-centres level in the north east region.
For Meghalaya, Azad said, “A total amount of Rs 421 crores was sanctioned under which 51 new CHCs have been funded while 17 existing ones have been renovated and upgraded.” Besides, he said, the centre also targeted the patients coming from the below poverty line (BPL).
On the demand made by NEIGRIHMS authority to give autonomous status to the institute through an act of parliament, Azad informed that the recognition process is already in the pipeline. He assured, “The Medical Council of India is doing processing the demand.”
Azad, however, hinted that the reason for the delay to the autonomous status is due to the fact that the institute is yet have faculty members which he said the government doing its best to get all the manpower and other accessories needed by the institute.
Earlier Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma emphasized on the need to increased investment by partnering with private players in the health sector to meet the demand and supply gap.
Sangma said, “Investment in larger scale is the need of the hour as we embarked on new initiatives to boost the health care facilities in the region.”
Sangma was also of the opinion that better health care is not only the business of the state government but private players must also take part and the government is trying to forge partnership to achieved the required goal in improving the health scenario in the state.
Later, Azad also presented certificates and awards to 1st batch of MBBS students who successfully completed the courses from NEIGRIHMS.- By Our Reporter
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