Yogi should tackle east UP encephalitis issue
Away from the glare of anti-Romeo squads and other issues like the ban on slaughterhouses and a crackdown of land and food mafia in the State, one of the real challenge that the Yogi Adityanath Government is faced with, is to revamp the healthcare sector, which is at a level of deprivation due to the shoddy policies of previous regimes. Even within the ambit of healthcare, one of the glaring problems that has seized national and international attention is the ever-rising threat from viral diseases like Japanese encephalitis. The fact of the matter is that Japanese encephalitis has become a serious national public health concern. Problems are more complex because most of the victims are reported to be children. Not only Uttar Pradesh, but other States like Odisha, Bihar and Assam too are burdened with this disease. The gravity of the problem is such that the matter has been taken up in Parliament several times, but this alone has not been enough to fight the scourge. The case of Uttar Pradesh stands out in particular for a few reasons. First, Yogi Adityanath's fight against Japanese encephalitis is not new. Ever since he won the Gorakhpur lok Sabha seat in 1998, he adopted an activist-like approach to draw the attention of various State Governments to the disease. He even handed various memoranda to the Ministers, organised dharnas and also raised the issue in Parliament a number of times. Second, about 50,000 children from eastern Uttar Pradesh, especially from his constituency, Gorakhpur, have fallen prey to this disease in the last three decades. Third, this matter was one of the poll planks for Yogi Adityanath, who promised that if the BJP was voted to power, the eradication of Japanese encephalitis would be given prime focus. Fourth, while it must be accepted that there is no treatment available for it till date, it is a highly vaccine preventable disease. Previous Governments’ apathy to arrest this recurring disease has led to a situation where the poor, especially children, have been left at the mercy of god since they do not have the means. All of this must propel the Adityanath Government to swing into action soon, more so because more children fall prey to this disease with the onset of the monsoon season.
It is encouraging that the State Health Ministry has already reviewed measures for the prevention and treatment of encephalitis patients. However, more needs to be done on a war-footing. Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur is the only hospital in entire eastern Uttar Pradesh that is equipped to handle encephalitis cases. The State requires more such hospitals which will save transportation time of the patients. The most important aspect of prevention lies in making trained medical, nursing and paramedics available. More awareness regarding this disease must be made as most cases go unreported. It is now upto the State Government to give immediate attention and care to the patients.