NEW DELHI: Textiles and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani on Monday inaugurated health and wellness service facilities for rural communities using AYUSH infrastructure through common service centers in 13 blocks of Amethi.
The 'Ayur Sanjeevani Kendra for Poshan Abhiyan', which will provide telemedicine consultation in Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha, will be gradually launched across 6,000 development blocks in the country, CSC e-Governance India Ltd said in a statement.
The first 13 Ayur Sanjeevani Kendras have been established at CSCs in all 13 development blocks of the Amethi district.
"Through CSC, we will be able to reach each and every block in the country and promote basic health services using AYUSH practices for women and children. It will also help us in Poshan Abhiyan especially in villages," Irani said in the statement.
She added that CSC village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs) will support outreach and create awareness about these facilities through local markets, haats, social gatherings, and media.
These centers will also carry out the promotion of yoga and meditation, identification of severely acute and malnourished (SAM) children and their management, and information dissemination about the importance of early breastfeeding and nutrition in infants and toddlers, the statement said.
"In a recent survey, we found that 85 percent of India's population has been taking Ayush treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. These centers will not only function as telemedicine centers but also be a major contributor towards an anemia-free India," AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said.
CSC e-Governance India CEO Dinesh Tyagi said the Ayur Sanjeevani Kendra is a unique initiative for the empowerment of pregnant women and lactating mothers.
"Today, we have launched 13 centers in Amethi and soon, we will set up similar centers in all 6,000 development blocks of the country."
There are over 3 lakh CSCs across India that are managed by CSC e-Governance India under the Ministry of Electronics and Information. These centers are run by VLEs on a franchisee model and provide government services and benefits under various schemes to people in rural areas and small towns.
"The VLEs of CSC, who have already done a great job in furthering the Digital India Mission, have now been entrusted with the important work of ensuring healthcare through AYUSH for the remote and backward villages in our country," Women and Child Development Secretary Ram Mohan Mishra said.