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Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said  that due to the coordinated efforts of different government departments, Uttar Pradesh would see complete eradication of encephalitis and an announcement to this effect would also be made by the government shortly.
CM Yogi described the control of encephalitis as a successful model for the country and the world.
The chief minister made the statement while launching the Special Communicable Disease Control campaign at BRD Medical College.
“The state government has been conducting special campaigns to control communicable diseases like dengue, malaria, encephalitis, kala-azar and chikungunya since 2017. These campaigns have yielded good results over the past six years,” the chief minister said.
Yogi started the campaign, which will run until October 31, by flagging off public awareness campaign vehicles. Additionally, he honoured two ASHA workers and two Anganwadi workers for their excellent works. He also gave away Ayushman cards to four beneficiaries of the Ayushman Yojana.
Notably, the government conducts special campaigns for communicable disease control three times a year through inter-departmental coordination. The current campaign, which runs from October to January, includes a 15-day programme in the first phase aimed at raising awareness and facilitating inter-departmental coordination.
The chief minister further explained that from October 16 to 31, ASHA workers will go door-to-door as part of the ‘Dastak Abhiyan’ to identify and provide appropriate treatment to patients in every household.
Yogi said that UP had the highest population in the country and the state, especially eastern UP, was severely affected by encephalitis before 2017.
“Before 2017, encephalitis caused death of 500 to 600 children. Now, the disease and the deaths caused by it are on the verge of becoming part of history”, he said.
The chief minister emphasised the importance of cleanliness in cases of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). Various programs for cleanliness and tap water scheme in every household are being implemented.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Swachhajanli program was conducted across the country on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. This was the greatest tribute to Bapu because cleanliness was his dearest subject. He knew that diseases caused by dirt weaken a person’s abilities and strength”, he added.
The chief minister said that for the construction of a strong and self-reliant India, cleanliness was very crucial. As a result, there had been significant awareness about cleanliness among the people.
“Today, every household has access to a toilet. The emphasis on cleanliness is being reinforced through bans on plastic and various other programs”, the chief minister added.
Yogi said that at present, while dengue was wreaking havoc in various states of the country, while it was under control in UP as a result of the communicable disease control programme. He said that through this campaign, extensive public awareness was being raised, and ASHA workers, health professionals and paramedical staff were working together to run health awareness programmes. If all departments work together, good results would surely be achieved.
The chief minister mentioned that along with controlling communicable diseases, we also need to heed the prime minister’s call to completely eradicate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025. For this, all public representatives, doctors, paramedical staff, and ordinary citizens should become a part of the campaign led by the Health department by taking care of TB patients in their neighbourhood.
The chief minister also inspected the dengue ward at the medical college.
During this programme  Yogi also performed Annaprashan (feeding ceremony) of children, providing them with nourishment and giving them gifts. The chief minister also performed the baby shower ceremony of pregnant women and gifted them nutrition kits.