How the Kerala government took care of its people during the pandemic was a narrative that ran throughout the Governor’s policy address at the opening of the Budget session of the 15th State Legislative Assembly here on Friday.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said that Kerala, by tapping its inherent strengths — a strong local self government system and people’s participation — and with the cooperation of all departments like Revenue and Police, had successfully withstood the onslaught of the pandemic .
He claimed that the State had succeeded in keeping the death rate down in the third wave of the pandemic, just as it had on the two previous occasions.
Rehabilitation package
Despite the financial constraints, Kerala had implemented a comprehensive rehabilitation package for children orphaned during the pandemic. Another scheme for providing ₹5,000 for 36 months to below the poverty line (BPL) families who lost their breadwinner to COVID-19 had also been drawn up.
The State was also ensuring the timely payment of ₹50,000 as ex gratia to the kin of those who lost their loved one to COVID-19. As on February 4 this year, 43,994 applications for the same had been approved, Mr. Khan said..
Vaccination figures
Kerala was continuing its fight against the pandemic and was pushing ahead with the completion of the vaccination on one hand, while ensuring that people suffering from post-COVID complications were also taken care of.
The Health department had initiated 1,188 post-COVID clinics and 186 pulmonary rehabilitation units at community health centres across the State for managing post-COVID complications.
Vaccination against COVID-19 was proceeding at a good pace and while 100% coverage had been achieved with the first dose of vaccine, 85% of those above 18 years had been fully vaccinated with two doses. The recently launched vaccination of children aged 15-17 years was also progressing, with 73% covered by the first dose.
Against lifestyle diseases
Kerala was pushing ahead with its ambitious initiatives under Nava Kerala Karma Padhathi-2 to eliminate indigenous malaria, kala azar, filaria, leprosy and tuberculosis by 2025. The District Cancer Control Programme will be implemented in all 14 districts. A major campaign to tackle lifestyle diseases, alongside the annual screening of people above 30 years, would be initiated soon.
The government was also making use of new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning for ushering in reforms in the health sector, as part of the State Digital Health Mission and e-Health initiatives.
Mr. Khan said that even amidst the gloom of the pandemic, the State had reasons to cheer as for the third consecutive time, Kerala was put on the top of the list of States who attained the Sustainable Development Goals, as per the assessment of the NITI AAYOG. Kerala was found to be the best performer in health indices in 2021 by the NITI AAYOG which ranked States based on overall health performance, he said.
Mr. Khan said that even amidst the gloom of the pandemic, the State had reasons to cheer as for the third consecutive time, Kerala was put on the top of the list of States who attained the Sustainable Development Goals, as per the assessment of the NITI AAYOG. Kerala was found to be the best performer in health indices in 2021 by the NITI AAYOG which ranked States based on overall health performance, he said.
