BENGALURU: Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar assured that the honorarium of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers will be hiked by Rs 2,000 this year. Participating in a state-level conference of ASHA workers in Bengaluru on Tuesday, he said that he will try to ensure that all legitimate demands of the workers are met, and it is announced during the budget session.
He said the workers’ honorarium has been hiked by Rs 1,000 twice after he became health minister. The ASHA workers have demanded that an ASHA Nidhi fund of Rs 5 crores be allocated separately for healthcare of workers. Sudhakar said that he will discuss it with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and efforts will be taken to eliminate technical glitches that the workers face, and honorarium will be paid on time.
During the pandemic, many had worked from home, he said, adding that only the ASHA workers were on the ground, implementing vaccination programmes and other central and state health schemes like the POSHAN Abhiyan or the Indradhanush vaccination scheme.
A discussion will also be held to provide a lumpsum amount as incentive to workers who have completed 10 years in service or are nearing retirement. Several health targets are yet to be achieved which the ASHA workers will help to accomplish like the target of reaching 100 per cent institutional delivery in Karnataka and reducing the maternal and infant mortality rate, and eliminating malnutrition, Sudhakar said.