State Set to Become First in Country to Formulate Comprehensive Nutrition Policy
Himachal Pradesh is set to prepare a comprehensive Nutrition Policy by May 31 this year to promote healthy food habits, improve public health awareness and achieve the vision of a “Fit Himachal”. The policy is expected to focus on nutrition awareness, balanced diets and preventive healthcare measures across the state.
Chairing a meeting of senior Health Department officials, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said there is a need to create widespread awareness among people regarding the nutritional value of food and healthy lifestyle practices. He stated that Himachal Pradesh is likely to become the first state in the country to formulate such a comprehensive Nutrition Policy.
He said changing food habits and lack of awareness regarding balanced nutrition have become important health concerns and emphasised the need for a coordinated policy to address these issues effectively.
The Chief Minister also stressed the importance of digitisation in the Health Department and directed officials to make patient records available online to ensure faster and easier healthcare services for people.
He said that once digitisation is implemented, patients would no longer need to carry paper registration slips or medical test reports as all records would be available digitally within the healthcare system. The move is expected to improve convenience for patients and streamline hospital services.
Sukhu directed the department to launch a pilot project for the digitisation of patient data at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital. The project will initially cover five departments — Pathology, Radiology, Mycology, Biochemistry and Pharmacy.
He assured adequate manpower support for the implementation of the project and said that after successful execution at IGMC, the initiative would be expanded to all departments of the institution and later to other government medical colleges across the state.
