Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya underscored the Government’s commitment to women’s health and the battle against sickle cell anemia in the country. Mandaviya highlighted key initiatives aimed at enhancing the well-being of women in rural areas and addressing the prevalence of sickle cell anemia in tribal districts across the country.
The Health Minister emphasised that by providing accessible sanitary pads, the Government is empowering women, enabling them to lead healthier lives and play a more significant role in the nation’s progress.
“To ensure women’s health, PM Modi through the Jan Aushadi Kendra made more than 35 crore sanitary pads available to the women in villages. In 2014, the reach of sanitary pads in villages was 11-12 per cent, now it has increased to 45 per cent. Women are being empowered to contribute to the development of the country,” Mandaviya said.
Minister Mandaviya further highlighted the prevalence of sickle cell anemia in more than 210 tribal districts across India and stressed the importance of early identification and screening. “Sickle cell anaemia can be seen in more than 210 tribal districts in the country. It is important to do the screening, identify and distribute the card to the person suffering from sickle cell. Three types of cards are being distributed to ensure that they mark who’s suffering from sickle cell, who’s the carrier and who’s gotten rid of it,” he added.
Earlier in February this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her budget speech in Parliament, said that the Union Government aims to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047, and a mission will soon be launched in this regard.
The mission is to create awareness among the common people with universal screening of seven crore people in the age group of 0 to 40 years in the tribal areas and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and State Governments.
(with inputs from ANI)
