Aiming to enhance access and make schemes more cost effective and robust, the government Friday launched four mobile health services, including M-Cessation which reaches out to those who want to quit tobacco through text messages on mobile phones.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda while launching the four services (m-Health) ‘Kilkari, Mobile Academy, M-Cessation and TB Missed Call initiative, said that these are part of the government’s Digital India programme and are in line with the commitment to prioritise public health.
“The m-Health initiatives launched today will enhance access, make our services cost effective and our systems more robust. We are on our way to realise the vision of our Prime Minister by going digital.
“These four mobile health services will be a game changer in health communication. I am confident that these initiatives will bring us closer to people who need our services the most,” Nadda said after launching the services.
The Health Minister said that in keeping with the vision of Digital India based on harnessing technology for the benefit of people, the OPD registration at AIIMS in the national capital has been made online which has resulted in cutting down waiting time of a large section of people from about six hours to nearly one hour.
Under ‘Kilkari’, which means ‘a baby’s gurgle’, delivery of free and weekly 72 audio messages about pregnancy, child birth and child care will be given directly to mobile phones of the families from the second trimester of pregnancy until the child is one year old.
Kilakri is being launched in Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and High Priority Districts (HPDs) of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the first phase.
Similarly, Mobile Academy is a free audio training course designed to expand and refresh the knowledge base of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and improve their communication skills.
