Varanasi, Dec 11 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Saturday virtually inaugurated the two-day conclave of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at Varanasi in the presence of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

Speaking at the occasion, Governor said: "I am happy to learn that more than 1.33 lakh HWCs have now become operational and are working as hubs of tele-consultations services."

She further encouraged the medical professionals at these Centres to create awareness regarding screening for various diseases among the local population, emphasising that collaborative effort is essential for eradicating the nation of diseases.

Applauding the spirit and progress of the initiative Nikshay-Mitra, she said: "With collaborative effort of Centre, States, communities and individuals, we can easily achieve goal of TB -- Mukt Bharat by 2025. Let us all come forward and become a Ni-kshay Mitra to support TB patients."

The Union Health Minister praised the significant impact of e-Sanjeevani, flagship initiative of government of India in digital health, elaborating that it has successfully saved 21.59 km per health visit to the patient, and enabled savings of Rs 941.51 in terms of direct and indirect cost per health visit leading to a saving of Rs 7,522 crore across the country.

These tele-consultations are available at AB-HWCs. To build on this momentum and spread awareness regarding the 12 healthcare services being provided at HWCs, he urged that once a month Health Mela should be organised for comprehensive drive on integrated health and wellness through screening, diagnostics and treatment.

The theme of the UHC day 2022 is "Build the World We Want: A Healthy Future for All".

Highlighting the importance of health coverage in building a healthy future for all, UHC strives to ensure that all people have access to quality health services without suffering financial hardship when paying for these services.

In light of its significance, UHC also features as a key priority in G20 India Health track and comprises as a key target for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030.

The event was attended by several Health Ministers from States. These included Minister of State, Uttar Pradesh Daya Shankar Mishra, Vidadala Rajni from Andhra Pradesh, Banna Gupta from Jharkhand, Prabhuram Choudhary from Madhya Pradesh, Dhan Singh Rawat from Uttarakhand, Ravindra Jaiswal from Uttar Pradesh, Chandrima Bhattacharya from West Bengal, Sapam Ranjan from Manipur and M.K. Sharma from Sikkim.

A Ministerial Session on implementation of PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) and 15th Financial Commission was also held on Saturday.