Health in Andhra Pradesh

Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department provides curative and preventive services to the people in the Rural & Urban areas of the State through the following agencies.

1. Director of Health
2. Commissioner Family Welfare
3. Director of Medical Education
4. Commissioner, A.P. Vaidya Vidhana Parishad
5. Director Institute of Preventive Medicine
6. Commissioner, Indian Medicines & Homeopathy Department
7. M.D, Andhra Pradesh Health Medical Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation
8. Project Director A.P. Aids Control Society
9. IG, Drug Control Administration
10. A.P. Yogadhayana Parishad
11. VC, NTR University of Health Sciences
12. MNJ Cancer Institute
13. Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences
14. A.P. Aromatic Plants Board

GOALS

1. Every person will have access to responsive basic health care and specialised health care at affordable prices.
2. Women will have safe and successful pregnancies
3. Infant/child mortality due to ailments like ARI and Diarrhea will be reduced drastically.
4. The spread of AIDS will be contained
5. Communicable diseases like GE, Malaria and TB will be effectively prevented
6. Families will be small and better spaced
7. Equitable access to quality health care will be ensured
8. Health sector will be equipped to deliver quality services for non-communicable diseases and trauma & injury cases
9. Life expectancy levels will reach 68 years males and 70.6 years for females from current 62 years and 64 years respectively.
10. Ensuring equality and access to affordable health care
11. Enhancing technical efficiency of key programs and clinical effectiveness
12. Ensuring micro/macro economic effectiveness in the use of resources
13. Improving quality of care /consumer satisfaction
14. Assuring systems for long-term sustainability

STRATEGIES

1. Universal access to primary and secondary health care.
2. Strengthening tertiary care in existing Government Hospitals.
3. Focus on communicable diseases.
4. Increasing role for Indian Systems of Medicine.
5. Strengthening process of institutional development.
6. Setting up self-supporting health insurance scheme.
7. Increase community participation.
8. Establishment of village level health workers and provide trained community health workers in all remote and tribal villages.
9. Identify one DWCRA group leader in other villages to be trained to deliver basic health services on call basis at a rate to be fixed by the community.
10. In the urban slums the system of link volunteers, each one catering to the basic health needs of 20 families will be strengthened.
11. Institute a regular health camp approach where the PHC Medical Officer and his staff will hold camps in a minimum of 2 villages every week so that the population gets health care at their doorstep.
12. Adopt a base hospital approach on a pilot basis. Base units at mandal level will not only provide for most of the medical interventions but also operate the system of mobile units fanning out to the villages thus delivering basic care at the village level and also ensuring a better referral network.

STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

1. Communicable diseases have to be controlled through serious efforts by Government machinery at field level involving Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and community. There has been improvement in tackling communicable diseases, but serious efforts have to be mounted to bring down diseases to minimum level. This is possible only if Panchayat Raj Bodies and Municipal Bodies take effective steps for controlling mosquito breeding and supply of safe drinking water to the people. Practical measures have to be worked-out to tackle the diseases.
2. Government has decided to appoint two High Level Expert Committees to suggest measures to control communicable diseases. A National workshop was conducted whose recommendations are available in regard to measures to be taken to control communicable diseases. A National Workshop is also organized by Indian Medicine Department to suggest medication and other measures required for supply of Homoeopathy medicines for containing communicable and other diseases.
3. State Level Action Plan : Action plans are being prepared to tackle diseases like (a) tuberculosis (b) Blindness (c) Leprosy and (d) Filaria. Respective departments will identify the problem and prepare action plans to reduce the levels of diseases by 20 percent every year. In the coming 5 years, the diseases should be controlled to the minimum level. These plans have to be made at the State level and later on District level plans have to be prepared. With time bound programmes these plans have to be finalized.
4. Training Programmes are also planned for all levels of staff and Non-government organizations and self-helf groups for prevention and control of communicable diseases.

AIDS Prevention and Control Programme

1. Andhra Pradesh has a population of 7 million people. As of November 2000 the State has reported 6463 HIV infections in Andhra Pradesh, out of which 67 people have AIDS. The prevalence of HIV positive is 28.5% among the attendees of STD Clinic and 2.25% among the attendees of Antenatal clinic.
2. The State has established 28 STD clinics to diagnose and treat STD patients out of which 20 clinics are strengthened in terms of equipment and provision of medicines. The incidence of STD in the state is showing an upward trend from 17942 cases in 1996, to 22627 cases in 2001 which is more than 25%.
3. The State Government is committed to bring awareness, knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS, prevention and transmission in general population and to bring about desired behavioral change of seeking information on HIV/AIDS and condom use involving NGO’s, electronic and print media, out door publicity.
4. It is desirable to establish infective disease hospitals for the purpose of admitting HIV patients, who are not accepted socially. The possibility of utilizing the idle capacity available in the existing Government Leprosy and TB Hospitals for treatment of HIV patients by entrusting their management to Non-Governmental Organisations is being explored. Grants-in-aid can be considered to genuine and strong NGOs to run these hospitals for HIV patients.
5. It is proposed to provide the AIDS Testing facilities in all the District Head Quarters Hospitals. Necessary training will be imparted to the staff and posted to the AIDS detection centres.
6. Training programmes also will be taken up for the Daias and RMPs who can play vital role in educating the community about the HIV and AIDS disease.
7. Disposable syringes and needles and waste disposal system will be adopted in all the Public Health Institutions as a policy.

Strategy for System Improvements

1. The following steps were initiated which shall contribute to the overall improvements in the health sector.
2. PHCs and secondary Hospitals Grading
3. All Systems of Medicine under one roof Ayurveda, Homoeo & Unani in 64 DH, AH & CHCs.
4. Master Health check up periodic speciality Medical camps.
5. Blood Banks in all DH, AH & CHCs on National Highway.
6. Health Check ups in schools and welfare hostels.
7. Incentives & Disincentives.
8. Affiliation for DNB (Family Medicine) in all District Hospitals.
9. To all advanced diagnostic facility including Telemedicine to all district level through public private participation by
10. taking the help of corporate sector.
11. Clean & green programmes and horticulture development in all hospitals.