Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday lauded the services of ASHA workers during the peak of COVID-19, saying they are on the ‘frontline’ to save the state. He also announced increase in their monthly honorarium and incentives. The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) “sisters” served diligently during COVID-19 and it is because of their efforts that the country’s most populous state efficiently controlled the spread of the virus, he said.
Their services have earned global acclaim, Adityanath said, and called them the backbone of the rural health system. The Chief Minister was inaugurating the ‘Conference of Hopes’ in the state capital during which 80,000 smartphones were distributed. On the occasion, Adityanath announced an increase in the monthly honorarium and incentives of ASHA workers. With an additional honorarium of Rs 500 per month for the period from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022, the state government will also double their normal salary, i.e. Rs 750 to Rs 1,500 per month, he said.
With Rs 1,500 per month from the central government, ASHA workers will receive around Rs 6,000 per month, taking into account all allowances, Adityanath said. In addition, contractual assistant nurse midwives, who played a key role in immunizing people and worked for more than 60 days during the peak of the pandemic, would get a one-time honorarium of Rs 10,000.
Stating that no region can be fully developed without medical resources, the Chief Minister said that his government has paved the way for the development of the state by improving health infrastructure.
“It is on its way to have a medical college in every district to provide accessible health services,” he said, adding that the facility has already been established in around 60 districts. Adityanath said that over 551 oxygen plants have become operational across the state, making it ‘self-reliant’ in oxygen production.
Further, he said that earlier only 26 districts had ICU beds and now they have been made available in all 75 districts. The Chief Minister urged the people to get themselves fully vaccinated to protect themselves from the disease. There is no need to panic about Kovid-19. We just have to take precautions. The positivity rate in the state is below 0.05 percent. So far, we have given more than 200 million vaccine doses, which is the highest in the country. Adityanath said that complete vaccination and adherence to COVID-appropriate behavior will help us fight the pandemic.
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