New Delhi: Amid severe heatwave conditions across the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said timely and effective coordination between the Centre and states can ensure that there are no deaths due to heatwaves. He also stated that effective disaster response and management is a collaborative work, reported news agency PTI.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mandaviya chaired a high-level meeting to review the public health preparedness for the management of heat-related illnesses.
During the meeting, he virtually interacted with state health ministers, state disaster management ministers and principal secretaries/additional chief secretaries, and information commissioners of seven states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, which are experiencing severe heatwave conditions.
Mandaviya said that “India has demonstrated during the recent preparedness measures for cyclone Biparjoy that timely and effective coordination between the Centre and states can produce the desired outcome”. “Sharing of ideas, expertise and best practices by states help in enriching everyone in effectively managing heat-related illnesses,” he added, according to PTI.
In the meeting, he urged the states to implement the State Action Plan, based on the National Action Plan, at the ground levels with a timely warning to the people, and ensure preventive preparedness to reduce the severe impact of heatwave. The Union health minister also advised the states that have not yet prepared the action plan to do so urgently detailing specific field-level action and ensuring effective implementation of the same.
Mandaviya stated that heat alert and forecasts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is amplified and shared with all states daily by the Union Health Ministry and urged the states to develop training manuals on heat and health for state officials, medical officers and health workers.
“State-level trainers need to ensure that their training is up to field level. Capacity building of medical officers, health staff and sensitization of grassroots level workers on heat illness, with focus on early recognition and management using training manuals provided by the Union Health Ministry is crucial," he stated.
According to a statement issued by the health ministry, states were advised to increase resiliency to extreme heat at the health facilities level by ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply; installation of solar panels and adopting measures to reduce indoor heat through the installation of cool/green roof, window shading, shades, etc.
Nityanand Rai, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, was present at the meeting, while Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health, S P Baghel, Union Minister of State for Health, and Dr V K Paul, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog, were present in the virtual mode.
State ministers who joined the high-level review meeting included Shahnawaz, Disaster Management Minister (Bihar); Banna Gupta, Health and Disaster Management Minister (Jharkhand); Pratima, Disaster Management Minister (Odisha); Harish Rao, Health Minister (Telangana); Anup Valmiki, Disaster Management Minister (Uttar Pradesh); and Mayaneshwar Singh, Minister of State for Health (Uttar Pradesh).