Good Governance Day 25th December :Health Minister announces 4 new IT-based initiatives

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare announced four new IT-based initiatives on Good Governance Day (25th December, 2015), to mark the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Shri Madan Mohan Malaviya and birthday of Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
4 initiatives are:
1. Kilkar
- It is an audio-based mobile service that delivers weekly audio messages to families about pregnancy, child birth and child care.
- Aim: to empower and educate women and parents to help create a better environment in maternal and child health. 
- Details: Each pregnant woman and infant’s mother, registered in Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS), a web- enabled name-based system to monitor and ensure delivery of full spectrum of services to all pregnant women and children, would receive weekly voice messages relevant to the stage of pregnancy or age of the infant. 
- In the first phase,implementation will be in six States in Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and HPDs of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and being developed in Hindi, English and Odiya languages.

2. Mobile Academy
- It is a mobile app through which  9000,000 ASHAs will be trained using mobile services. 
- This will aid in enhancing their inter-personal skills. 
- Details of the app: 
a. Once registered, ASHAs can access the 240-minute course via their mobile phones. They can then complete the standardized course at their convenience. 
b. Digital bookmarking technology enables ASHAs to complete the course at their own pace. 
c. The course is divided into eleven chapters each containing four lessons. There is a quiz at the end of each chapter. 
d. ASHAs successfully completing the course by securing more than minimum prescribed marks will receive a Certificate of completion from the Government. 
    
3.  Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP)
- It is more patient-centric.
- A dedicated toll free number, 1 8 0 0 - 1 1 – 6 6 6 6, with a call centre is being started to provide round the clock support for patient counselling and treatment support services.
- Under this initiative, callers can give a missed call or call to get complete support for diagnosis, treatment and support for the completion of treatment on the national toll free number, the Minister informed. This initiative is being started in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. 

4. M-Cessation
 This will be an IT-enabled tool to help tobacco users to quit tobacco. Built on a helpline concept, it will register beneficiaries on the basis of a missed call. The counselling would be done through a two-way SMS process.

About Good Governance Day
This day was announced by the Union government to hounour former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bharat Ratna Shri Madan Mohan Malaviya. It coincides with their birth anniversaries.