Amaravati, March 31 Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that village meetings, camps, and awareness programs will be held every fourth Saturday under the 'Swarna Andhra Population Management' initiative to improve public health.
Reviewing the Sanjeevani project, Naidu directed officials to expand it across the state by July, noting that it is currently being implemented in Kuppam and Naravaripalle.
"Village meetings, health camps, and awareness programs will be organized every fourth Saturday under the 'Swarna (golden) Andhra Population Management' initiative to strengthen public health," Naidu said in a release.
He asked officials to formulate an 'AP Health Management Policy' based on five pillars—maternity, strength, skill, welfare, and Sanjeevani—to strengthen healthcare delivery.
Naidu said that public health should be taken up as a movement, directing MPs, MLAs, collectors, and medical officials to reach out to people from April to promote awareness and preventive care.
He set a target of conducting medical tests for over 5.6 million people within a year and instructed officials to share reports with beneficiaries via WhatsApp within 48 hours.
Officials said that more than 900 mobile medical units would be required for the initiative at an estimated cost of Rs 162 crore, which was approved by the CM.
They added that over 3.1 lakh people have been registered so far in the Sanjeevani Digital Nerve Centre database across the state.
Emphasising preventive healthcare, Naidu said that personal health records must be updated regularly and highlighted the role of yoga, nutrition, meditation, and pranayama in reducing future medical expenses.
He also directed officials to assess improvements in public health indicators in Chittoor district, where the project is under implementation.
Reviewing the proposed Universal Health Policy under the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust, officials said that several insurance companies have expressed interest in partnering with the programme.
The CM also discussed setting up medical colleges under the public-private partnership (PPP) model and stressed that vacancies in the health department should be filled through rationalisation.
He further directed the integration of pharmacy networks and laboratories, and said that caesarean deliveries should be limited to cases of medical necessity, with audits to be conducted if they exceed 20 per cent.