Assam government today announced a special health care initiative to extend financial help for super speciality treatment of complicated diseases for children below 12 years.
State Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the scheme 'Sneha Sparsh' will mainly focus on children belonging to BPL families and will also cover the tiny tots of families with an annual income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh.
'Sneha Sparsh' will cover bone marrow transplant, blood cancer, cochlear implant, liver transplant, fitting of artificial limbs, treatment of retina injuries, treatment of solid tumour and treatment of children born with neurological anomalies, he said.
"An amount of Rs 5 crore has been earmarked during 2013-14 for children below 12 year, with emphasis on little ones from BPL families, for super speciality treatment for complicated diseases and those which can be treated through surgical procedures or high end treatment at higher level institutions outside the state," Sarma said.
He said 'Sneha Sparsh' will be formally launched on April 15, to coincide with Rongali Bihu.
Under the scheme, children below 12 years would be provided financial assistance of up to Rs 10 lakh for bone marrow transplant for leukaemia, thalassemia and other types of
rare haemoglobin defects.
In case of cancer-related surgical procedures of children suffering from blood cancer, the government will provide financial help to the tune of Rs one lakh, while for other cancers it will be Rs 50,000.
