Kerala   

Free cancer-care for children

Manjeri: The Arogya Keralam Palliative Care Project, inaugurated by Health Minister P.K Sreemathy here on Thursday, is the largest such project in the country so far with a budget of over Rs.4 crore. The State-level project is being implemented in Kerala by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

In her inaugural address, the Minister announced a free treatment package for children afflicted with cancer. They will get free treatment and medicines from seven major hospitals in the State. The hospitals are the five government medical colleges in the State, Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and Malabar Cancer Centre, Thalasseri.

The Arogya Keralam Palliative Care Project, to be implemented in the State from November 1, aims at the development of community-based care services for the bed-ridden, elderly, chronically and incurably ill people in the State.

This is also the only palliative care project of the NRHM in any State in India. The project is expected to act as the main implementing arm of the State government’s Palliative Care Policy which was announced on April 15 this year.

The project aims at awareness and capacity-building in the general community, health care professionals in government and private sector, local self-government officials, the student community and grassroots political leaders.

A series of demonstration projects in the background of these awareness and training activities are expected to facilitate the evolution of a social movement in the care of the incurably and terminally ill patients in the State, well integrated to the health care system. It would also serve to bring together the various non-governmental initiatives and government agencies on a common platform.

P.K. Abdu Rub, MLA, presided over inaugural function. K. Suresh Kumar, Director, Institute of Palliative Medicine, explained the project.

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