Sukrutham, the State government’s project to provide free cancer treatment to people through government hospitals, will become a reality in the State on November 1.
The scheme was dedicated to the people by actor Mammootty at a function here on Friday.
In his inaugural address, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said 35 lakh families enrolled in the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) comprehensive health insurance scheme would benefit from the scheme in the first phase. In the next phase, the government intended to extend the scheme to all families in the State. Free education for cancer-afflicted children in the State was in the offing, Mr. Chandy said.
Funding for schemeHe said various options were being looked at to raise funds for Sukrutham, which would incur an estimated expense of Rs.320 crore every year. The revenue generated through the 8 per cent increased taxation on cigarettes and the 1 per cent tax hike on liquor would be set aside for the cancer care scheme.
Mr. Chandy said the government had decided to withdraw the proposed hike in user fee for various services under the Health Department.
Call to change lifestyleMr. Mammootty, in his address, appealed to the people to go back to their roots and traditional lifestyle to ward off scourges such as cancer. The accent should be on prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases through a healthy lifestyle and proper diet, he said.
“We never had the threat of cancers or such diseases when we were eating our traditional diet. We should go back to farming, and start growing our own food in our backyards,” Mr. Mammootty said.
Plastic should never be used for storing food and water, he felt.
Several members of the Cabinet, including Ramesh Chennithala, V.S. Sivakumar, P.K. Abdu Rabb, Shibu Baby John, K.P. Mohanan, and senior Health officials were present on the occasion.
