The Hindu 08.04.2010
Need to create more awareness on health issues stressed
Staff Correspondent
| Call to stop migration of people from rural areas to urban centres |
Focus on health and hygiene:Vice-president of Udupi Zilla Panchayat Santoshkumar Shetty speaking at the World Health Day celebrations in
Udupi: Vice-president of Udupi Zilla Panchayat Santoshkumar Shetty said on Wednesday that more awareness should be created on health issues.
He was speaking after inaugurating the district-level World Health Day celebrations organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and other organisations, here.
The theme of this year's World Health Day was: “Be part of a global movement to make cities healthier”.
Dr. Shetty, who is also a physician, said that increase in population was a major problem that the world was facing.
The quality of water in rural areas of Udupi district was good as most people consumed water from wells, he said. It was essential to ensure quality of drinking water as nearly 70 per cent of diseases were waterborne. It was necessary to treat water properly before it was supplied to households in cities, he said.
Udupi district had an Infant Mortality Rate of 8 to 9 per 1,000 live births, he said. The district had a high incidence of people dying owing to HIV/AIDS.
“More importance should be given to issues of health, hygiene and sanitation,” Dr. Shetty said.
Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat D. Pranesh Rao said it was necessary to stop migration of people from rural areas to urban centres. Better health facilities should be provided in both rural and urban areas, he added.
Felicitation
Four junior health assistants, six staff nurses and nine medical officers were felicitated for rendering exemplary service in their fields in the district. Junior health assistants Shailaja Shetty, Vimala Bairy, Salina and Kaveri; staff nurses Deepa Saibrakatte, Hemalatha Gangolli, Tulsi Belman, Shantha Marvanthe, Gopi Karkala and Lakshmi Udupi; and medical officers Amna Hegde Petri, Premananda, Satish, Chandrashekhar, Nalini, Jnanesh Kamath, Damayanti, Shailaja and Venugopal, were honoured.
District Health and Family Welfare Officer Ramachandra Bairy welcomed the gathering. Commissioner of Udupi City Municipal Council Gokuldas Nayak, president of Udupi district unit of State Government Employees Association Subramanya Sherigar, professor in the Department of Community Medicine at Kasturba Medical College Ramachandra Kamath and principal of Vidyaniketan D.Ed. College P.N. Devadiga were present.
