Decisive strike against malaria continues, zero deaths our goal: Health Minister

Decisive strike against malaria continues, zero deaths our goal: Health Minister Guidelines to ensure effective ban on the use and sale of analog cheese in the state, and health checkups of over 3.4 million people under the Chief Minister's Healthy Bastar campaign Raipur Health Minister Shri Shyam Bihari Jaiswal said that the state government is continuously working to ensure quality health services reach remote and vulnerable areas. He said that especially in the Bastar region the positive results of the Chief Minister's Healthy Bastar campaign have emerged, through which health services have reached millions of people and timely detection and treatment of serious diseases have become possible In a press conference held in Raipur the Minister Jaiswal disclosed that under the Healthy Bastar campaign more than 3.429 million citizens were screened covering about 99% of the target population During the campaign malaria TB sickle cell leprosy oral cancer and other serious diseases were identified and treatment started in time Over 60,000 severe patients were referred to higher health institutions and special monitoring and treatment were ensured for 10,938 high‑risk pregnant women He said that after a few malaria cases have emerged recently the health department is operating with full vigilance State health workers Mitanin ANMs and field staff are reaching village‑to‑village to conduct surveys treatment investigations and awareness activities Continuous efforts are being made for malaria control and elimination The Health Minister said that the goal is zero malaria deaths Emphasis is being placed on timely testing rapid treatment continuous monitoring and community awareness He reported that as a result of strategic planning continuous monitoring and public participation the malaria positivity rate in Bastar division fell from 4.60% to 0.48% The state’s annual parasite index API dropped from 5.21 to 0.90 reflecting the department’s sustained efforts in malaria control Providing information on maternal and infant health services the minister noted that over 1.189 million institutional deliveries have taken place in the state in the last two and a half years Through the Prime Minister’s Safe Motherhood programme regular specialist check‑ups for pregnant women identification of high‑risk pregnancies and necessary treatment are being ensured To further strengthen emergency health services 375 new 108 Sanjeevani Express ambulances have been deployed in the state Between January 2024 and June 2026 more than 6.5 lakh citizens were provided with timely emergency health services ensuring rapid medical aid in accidents childbirth and other emergencies The minister said that with the cooperation of HLL Lifecare Limited modern pathology testing services are being made available in 1,051 state health institutions to bring quality diagnostic facilities to the masses Through hub‑and‑spoke model IT‑based reporting and quality monitoring systems reliable and timely testing facilities are also reaching citizens in remote areas He also mentioned that along with expanding health services special focus is being given to train human resources Accordingly paramedical courses will be started in all ten medical colleges of the state providing necessary technical and paramedical staff for health institutions and offering youth new employment‑oriented education and training opportunities in the health sector During the press conference the Health Minister also took a strict stance on food safety issuing directions to ensure an effective ban on the use and sale of analog cheese in the state He said providing safe and quality food items to the public is a government priority and violations of food safety standards will be dealt with as per the law