The AP government has sanctioned 54 new primary health centres spread over 17 districts, but the health department is not in a position to open them immediately for want of staff and equipment. Apart from doctors, each PHC will require a compounder, a pharmacist, a lab technician, a male health extension officer, an upper division clerk and auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs), depending upon the sub-centres under each PHC.

Currently, there are 1,386 PHCs and 10,311 sub-centres in the state and most of them are under-staffed. The Health Department has already addressed the problem to the government and is awaiting orders to carry out the recruitment of staff at least on contract basis.

Though manpower shortage is very much in evidence, mobile devices are bringing dramatic changes in the lives of people at the grassroots level, albeit in a small and limited way. The Research and Development Centre of CMC Ltd, which is now part of the TCS following its acquisition last year, is working on three interesting technology projects - the India Healthcare project, the Integrated Tribal Management Project and an education project that seek to empower people at grassroots using handheld devices.

A grassroot level health assistant under the project is in direct contact with 5,000 people in a particular village assigned to him. Operating out of a primary health centre (PHC) that serves as an office, dispensary and stores, these healthcare assistants collect basic demographic data and attend to mother and child healthcare programmes, immunisation and family planning. They also attend to work relating to various diseases, monitors drinking water sources and provides healthcare education and counselling.

While providing convergence of services, this helps in extending individual follow-up for pregnant women and children - covering care from pregnancy to delivery time and beyond such as ante-natal care, high-risk pregnant women, birth of child, immunisation and post-natal care. This also helps the government in monitoring various family welfare services such as spacing of children and in extending counselling services.

The project funded by the World Bank is being taken up under the aegis of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Under this initiative in the Nalgonda district, out of 67 PHCs 32 are using the technology for improving the healthcare system. Similar initiatives using technology and handheld devices are under way for Tribal Management at Utnoor in Adilabad district.

Meanwhile the Department of Health has geared up for the statewide Intensified Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme on Sunday, January 5. More than 20 lakh children under 5 years will be given the first dose of pulse polio drops. About six lakh children will be covered in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.