Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Friday inaugurated the Integrated Public Health Laboratory (IPHL) under PM-ABHIM at Pasteur Institute, Shillong
Under the PM-ABHIM (FY 2021-2026), the Health Minister also dedicated the identified locations of Critical Care Block (CCB) and Integrated Public Health Laboratory (IPHL) to be built in the seven Districts of the state of Meghalaya.
Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the function, Lyngdoh said that the government of India has been very generous in assisting the government of Meghalaya to strengthen its health facility centers and in the last few months, a total of seven projects has been given to the state.
These include projects of the critical care blocks (CCB).
“We have 2 CCBs – one in Williamnagar and one in Khliehriat and these are 50 bedded hospitals,” she said.
She said that the government of India has also sanctioned the state of Meghalaya with five Integrated Public Health Laboratories (IPHLs) – at Pasteur Institute, Shillong, Jowai, Mawkyrwat, Mendipathar and Ampati.
“These labs have been modelled by the government of India will improve testing facilities for citizens both for the communicable as well as the non-communicable diseases…,” Lyngdoh said. She said that the presence of such lbs would also reduces the out-of-pocket expenses of citizens at time of testing for investigation of certain diseases.
According to her, these labs would also be able to predict if there is an outbreak of certain diseases.
“Now an Institute of this nature with the necessary manpower who are already specialists in their own fields will be able for us to pre-empt, to address before an outbreak and then to the extent of damage that such diseases can cause to the population of the state of Meghalaya,” she said. She added“We are very grateful to the Health Minister who has himself attended the program, I am very grateful that the prime minister has been forthcoming in his assistance not just to the state of Meghalaya but to the entire Northeastern region.”
Earlier, the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya today virtually dedicated to the nation a new campus of NIPER Guwahati and laid the foundation stone of NIPER Hyderabad and NIPER Raebareli. The Union Minister virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various healthcare infrastructure projects in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Saha, and Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Bhagwanth Khuba also virtually addressed the programme.