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**Kerala Health Department Wins Big at State E-Governance Awards**

**Thiruvananthapuram, India – September 26, 2025** – The Kerala Health Department has been recognized for its outstanding achievements in leveraging technology to improve healthcare access and delivery, securing four prestigious e-governance awards from the State government. The awards, presented by the Chief Minister on Friday, highlight the department’s commitment to innovation and its positive impact on the lives of thousands of citizens.

Health Minister Veena George announced the accolades, emphasizing the department’s dedication to utilizing technology for the benefit of the public. The winning initiatives showcase the department’s focus on providing comprehensive and accessible healthcare services to vulnerable populations.

The Ashadhara scheme, which provides free medicines and follow-up care to over 2,000 haemophilia patients in the state, clinched the top spot in the e-health and e-medicine category. A dedicated software was developed to manage the scheme which provides free treatment to 2,194 patients, of which 324 receive the latest Emicizumab drug prophylaxis. Last year ₹58 crore was spent on haemophilia treatment.

The microbiology department of the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, received a special mention for its pioneering work in developing and publishing the first global AWaRe-based microbiology culture reporting format. This initiative, aligned with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) antibiotic classification system, aims to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by enabling physicians to make more informed antibiotic prescription choices.

The digitization of the Arogyakiranam scheme, which offers free medical treatment to all children under 18 in state-run public hospitals, secured second place in the Digital Process Re-engineering category. To date, the scheme has provided free treatment worth ₹68.3 crore to 1.63 million children.

The Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhati (KASP), Kerala’s health insurance scheme integrated with the Ayushman Bharat program, earned third place in the e-Citizen Service Delivery and m-Governance category.

Through KASP, Arogyakiranam, and the Karunya Benevolent Fund (KBF), the Health Department reports providing free medical treatment to 2.51 million people over the past four years, totaling ₹7,708 crore. KASP alone accounted for ₹7,163 crore in free care for 2.4 million individuals.

Vinay Goyal (National Health Mission State Mission Director), E. Bijoy (State Programme Manager), U.R. Rahul (Ashadhara State Programme officer), and S Manjusree (Head of Microbiology, MCH) were on hand to receive the awards. These awards underscore Kerala’s position as a leader in digital healthcare innovation, demonstrating its commitment to improving the health and well-being of its citizens through the strategic use of technology.

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