Karnataka making efforts to improve its NITI Aayog health rating: Yediyurappa

Bengaluru: Karnataka would make efforts to achieve all the 17 parameters set by the NITI Aayog to achieve better ranking in its health index, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said on Monday. "In the NITI Aayog's Health Index, Karnataka has got sixth place by scoring 66 out of 100. We will further improve our position in the Health Index by fulfilling all the 17 parameters," the Chief Minister said after inaugurating the 'Arogya Soudha' (state health department's headquarters) here.

The Chief Minister said the government is committed to improving the primary health centres and has decided to allocate more funds for it. According to him, 951 PHCs are presently working round-the-clock and arrangements are afoot to ensure that other PHCs too function 24x7. Yediyurappa said the government has initiated measures to recruit 1,500 doctors in the government hospitals.

"Government has the desire to provide all the necessary equipment to this department.We want to make sure that there are an adequate number of MBBS doctors who will work in the rural areas," the chief minister said. Heaping praises on Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, Yediyurappa said during the peak time of COVID-19, he was reviewing the situation on an hourly basis. "We could succeed in containing coronavirus because of the sincere efforts of Dr Sudhakar," he said. Sudhakar said the government has been working towards reforming the public healthcare system in the state despite the financial crunch due to the pandemic. "Our aim is to build a medical college in every district," Sudhakar said. PTI