Dr Vardhan gives away Kayakalp awards

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : “ Kayakalp award has made you an inspiration towards ‘swachhta’ in your community and region. Now you should become role models for other health facilities and inspire and lead your community and districts towards achieving the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene, said Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to the winning public and private health facilities during a national felicitation ceremony of Kayakalp awardees (2018-19) for their work in maintaining high standards of sanitation and hygiene.

Dr Vardhan commended the awardees and said that cleanliness is no more a  one-time activity but is integrated in our day-to-day practices and should become a habit. Kayakalp has played a pivotal role in reinstating and reconfirming trust and confidence of the community in public health facilities. He further added that the zest and zeal shown by the hospitals and their collective efforts in improving cleanliness, hygiene and infection control practices should continue unabated. ” It is now your duty to take upon the leadership role and mentor and monitor the Ayushman Bharat- Health & Wellness Centers (AB-HWCs) of your Districts, States and UTs,” he added.

Addressing the event, Union Minister of State for Heal and Family Welfare Ashiwini Kumar Choubey stated that our efforts towards cleanliness and hygiene, in any shape and form, are like an offering, a ‘swachhaanjli’ to the father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi ji as the nation celebrates his 150th birth anniversary.

The Health Ministers released the Kayakalp Coffee Table book documenting the success journeys of the award winning health facilities, and also gave away the awards to the winners under various categories.

Under the Central Government Hospitals A category, the first prize of Rs 3 crore was given to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. JIPMER, Puducherry, was judged as the runner-up in this category with Rs 1.5 crore prize money, and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER),Chandigarh, and Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, won the Commendation Award of Rs 50 Lakh each.

In the group B category, the winner was VBCH, Silvassa, winning Rs 2 crore, with AIIMS Bhubaneswar as the runner-up winning Rs 1 crore. NEIGRIHMS, Shillong, LGBRIMH, Tezpur, and AIIMS, Bhopal, each won Rs. 50 lakh as Commendation Award.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also felicitated the District Hospitals, PHCs and CHCs, wherein 29 hospitals won the First Prize, 14 were awarded the Second Prize and the Third Prize was won by 2 hospitals. In the current year, for the holistic and comprehensive improvement across the health sector, the Kayakalp scheme was extended to private sector health facilities; 11 private health facilities were felicitated at the event.

The Kayakalp Award was  instituted as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on May 15, 2015, as a national initiative to recognise and felicitate public health facilities that demonstrate high levels of cleanliness, hygiene and infection control measure on promoting cleanliness in public spaces.