Imphal, September 02 2010: State Health and Family Welfare minister, Ph Parijat today said that government is determined to provide free medical treatment facilities to all citizens at government run healthcare centres.

Addressing as chief guest at an awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS, organised by the Bishnupur Network of Positive People (BNPP+) in collaboration with the Manipur Legislative Forum on HIV and AIDS (MLFA) at Kiyam Community hall in Bishnupur, the minister said that providing free healthcare service to all sections of the people in the state will be started from this year.

Centre has released Rs two crore as its share for introducing the scheme to give free medical treatment to patients being treated at government hospitals and healthcare centres.

The state wil have to bring out an equal amount of the Centre's fund as the funds for the scheme is to be shared 50/50 between the Centre and state government.

As soon as the state releases its share, the scheme will be launched Parijat said.

He said that a proposal of releasing the state share will be tabled in the Cabinet to be passed.

As per the guidelines of the Central sponsored scheme, government will bear upto Rs 1 lakh in treating a patient, Parijat added.

A General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) training school will be established in every district in the state.

The Centre had given a green signal to the state's proposal in this regard.

Works for setting up such schools in Thoubal, Bishnupur and in the four hill districts have already started and are likely to be operational within the current year, he added.

About spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS to the people, the health and family welfare minister said that the NGOs working in the field had a major role to impart in-depth knowledge about the disease.

The awareness programme on the disease should not be concentrated to the people infected or affected but everybody should be aware of the disease.

Only then, the disease can be eliminated from the soil of the state and the world.

MLA I Ibohal, a member of the legislature forum, who attended the function as guest of honour also stressed the need for mass awareness of the dreaded disease while elaborately talking on the constitution of the Legislature Forum on HIV/AIDS.

However, he criticized the decision of the government to appoint an IAS officer as project director of the Manipur AIDS Control Society (MACS) asserting that a person having an in-depth knowledge of HIV/AIDS should be the project director.

Hence, government needs to appoint a person from MACS to the post, he added.

The awareness programme, presided over by MLA K Govindas, was also attended by the state coordinator of UN AIDS, Sunil Huidrom, Deputy Director of MACS, Abhiram Mongjam and Mister Manipur, Kh Pradipkumar who spoke as resource persons.

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