Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM calls for Public Awareness on Public Health

The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of Senior Officials of the Ministries of Health, Urban Development, Drinking Water Supply and Panchayati Raj to review the recent incidents of vector borne disease including Dengue and Chikungunya. The meeting was attended by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Anbumani Ramdoss, Minister of State Mrs. Panabaka Lakshmi, Union Cabinet Secretary and Principal Secretary to PM.

The Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Health to restructure the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and to transform it into an "Early Warning System" for the outbreak of epidemics. The programme should be made accountable for any failure in this regard.

The Ministry of Health was also asked to issue regular health alerts and health bulletins to create public awareness so as to enable preemptive action being taken both at the community level and the level of households.

The Prime Minister also instructed that funds under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and National Rural Health Mission should be utilized both for preemptive public health intervention at the community level and for undertaking sanitation and disease prevention programmes.

The Prime Minister complimented the media for playing the role of an early warning system. However, he urged the media to playa positive role by creating public awareness and desist from creating panic in the community.

In this context, the Prime Minister called for the national observance of one day as a National Cleanliness and Public Health Day in which community level action can be taken to prevent epidemics, and ensure proper sanitation and cleanliness in public places and within houses.