Delhi govt to launch free health scheme in April

The Delhi government will launch its ambitious free health scheme next month under which 27 lakh school going children will be offered free medical care, chief minister Sheila Dikshit said today.

Dikshit, while presenting the annual budget, had announced the scheme for which an initial corpus of Rs100 crore has been set aside.

"The scheme is being launched next month to to provide quality health care to all school children," Dikshit said while addressing a gathering after inaugurating a health camp in Okhla in South Delhi.

The 'Chacha Nehru Sehat Yojana' to provide universal and free health care to children up to 14 years of age was a major highlight of Delhi government's budget for 2011-12.

Dikshit said government has decided to provide sanitary napkins to girls of class 6 to 12 in all government and government-aided schools.

Meanwhile, Dikshit today launched another round of pulse polio immuniation programme by administering polio drops to a number of children.

Speaking on the occasion, Dikshit said "for building a strong nation, we must have strong children."

She said Delhi is considered a pioneer in "successful implementation" of pulse polio programme and it would continue to strive hard to completely eliminate polio from the city.

Delhi initiated the pulse polio immunisation programme in year 1994 and launched house to house 'search immunisation' in the year 1999.

Dikshit said although the city has not reported a single case of polio after January last year but the city remains to be at risk due to the huge migration into the city from other states.