NPPCD: Dead in State but still alive on NIHFW website
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, June 18 2014:
The implementation of National Programme for Prevention & Control of Deafness (NPPCD), sponsored by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, in Manipur is almost dead now due to the failure of the State Health Society.
According to a reliable source, crores of rupees released by the Ministry annually for implementation of NPPCD in the State have been diverted or misused as the nodal officer, who is to monitor the implementation of the programme, has not yet been appointed.
No proper infrastructure has been developed for the programme implementation till now.
Earlier, the Spastic Society Manipur, an NGO, successfully handled and implemented the first phase of the programme, but later it was incorporated in other programmes taken up by National Rural Health Mission.
Since then, State health Society has been tasked for implementation of NPPCD in the State.
This programme was introduced in three UTs and 186 districts of 16 States, including Manipur with an objective of providing benefits to about 63 million hearing-impaired people.
For successful implementation of the programme in the State, six audiometric assistants for six districts were recruited, but now there are only three of them working for the three districts of Imphal, Senapati and Churachandpur.
However, contrarily to the harsh reality of implementing NPPCD in Manipur, an impact assessment report uploaded on the website of National Institute of Health & Family Welfare (NIHFW) in 2013 maintained that NPPCD is still implementing in six districts of the State.
State Health Society proposed the Ministry for allotment of a total amount of Rs 60.73 lakh for the period 2012-13 for the first phase of the programme, but the Ministry approved only Rs 58.07 .
In the later year, the Ministry approved Rs 12.80 lakh against Rs 31.27 lakh proposed by the society.