Govt Details Health Initiatives For Thalassemia, Senior Citizens, And Tobacco Control In Rajya Sabha

The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha of significant developments in its ongoing efforts to improve healthcare delivery and promote public health across the country. These include enhanced surveillance and support for thalassemia patients through the integration of a dedicated module on the national sickle cell portal; the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to cover all senior citizens aged 70 and above under the Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme, facilitating access to treatment at thousands of empanelled hospitals nationwide; and a continued decline in tobacco use among women and youth, attributed to robust tobacco control legislation and awareness campaigns.

Over 4,300 thalassemia patients registered on national sickle cell portal; Children under 12 constitute majority of registered cases

A total of 4,361 thalassemia patients have been registered nationwide on the sickle cell portal, with 2,579 of them being children below 12 years of age, the Union Health Ministry informed on Tuesday.

In 2023, a dedicated thalassemia module was incorporated into the existing Sickle Cell Portal, enabling States and Union Territories to upload records of thalassemia patients. The move aims to facilitate regular monitoring, follow-up, and data entry for screening on the National Portal, thereby strengthening surveillance and patient care across the country, said Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patelin a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

She said, management and awareness generation related to thalassemia primarily rest with the respective State and UT Governments. Under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM), however, financial and logistical support is extended to States and UTs for bolstering healthcare systems.

This includes preventive and management services at public healthcare facilities, provision of blood bank facilities, day care centres, medicines, laboratory services, IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) activities, and training of human resources, based on proposals submitted by States and UTs in their Programme Implementation Plans.

The Minister further highlighted the implementation of the Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojana (TBSY), a scheme run in collaboration with Coal India Limited (CIL). Under this initiative, financial assistance of up to Rs. 10 lakh is provided to eligible patients to undergo bone marrow transplants (BMT). The scheme facilitates treatment in 17 empanelled hospitals nationwide, funded through CIL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions.

Ayushman Bharat Vay Vandana scheme expands reach; over 1.06 lakh claims settled

The Government has expanded the scope of the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to include all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of socio-economic status.

Under this initiative, beneficiaries receive free treatment benefits of up to ₹5 lakh per annum through the Ayushman Vay Vandana cards, the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Since the launch of the Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme, over 1.06 lakh claims have been settled, reflecting the scheme’s growing impact on healthcare accessibility for senior citizens.

A key feature of AB-PMJAY and the Vay Vandana scheme is portability, which enables beneficiaries to access treatment at any of the 31,466 empanelled hospitals nationwide, regardless of their place of residence. This provision ensures seamless access to quality healthcare services for the elderly population across the country.

Further, the Vay Vandana scheme beneficiaries can avail themselves of treatment through a network of 14,194 private healthcare providers empanelled under the scheme. To maintain uniform standards and ensure quality of service delivery, the National Health Authority (NHA) has issued comprehensive Hospital Empanelment and Management (HEM) Guidelines for hospital empanelment under AB-PMJAY, said the Minister.

Tobacco use among women and youth shows decline, says Health Ministry

Tobacco consumption among women and school-going children in India has shown a significant decline over the past decade, the Government informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) rounds I (2009-10) and II (2016-17), tobacco use among women aged 15 years and above decreased from 20.3% to 14.2%. Similarly, the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) revealed a reduction in tobacco use among school-going children aged 13 to 15 years from 14.6% in 2009 to 8.5% in 2019, said Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The Minister attributed this downward trend to the implementation of comprehensive tobacco control measures, including the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA 2003).

The Act prohibits smoking in public places, bans the sale of tobacco products to and by minors, restricts sale within 100 yards of educational institutions, and bars direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products. It also mandates the display of specified health warnings on all tobacco product packaging.

Launched in 2007, the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) aims to discourage tobacco use by raising awareness about its harmful effects through sustained public campaigns and by ensuring effective enforcement of COTPA provisions. As part of these efforts, the Ministry also conducts an annual 60-day Tobacco Free Youth Campaign to educate and empower young people to resist or quit tobacco use.

Further, the Government has enforced a complete ban on electronic cigarettes, including heat-not-burn products, under “The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019,” added the Minister.