Kuppam (Chittoor district): The State government has launched a ‘Universal Health Screening’ initiative to map the State’s overall disease burden and design targeted public health interventions towards achieving its vision of Arogya Andhra.

The ambitious programme aims to create a comprehensive disease profile of the population by conducting detailed medical screenings across the state. As part of this effort, a pilot project was inaugurated on Wednesday in Kuppam constituency, covering 93 villages.

Under the pilot, comprehensive blood tests, including 49 disease-specific tests for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), will be carried out for nearly 90,000 residents.

The results will help the government build a precise understanding of disease patterns and guide preventive and curative health measures in the region. To facilitate this massive effort, Bavya Health Services has set up three diagnostic hubs equipped with advanced laboratory technology such as haematology analysers, fully-automatic biochemistry analysers, and electrolyte analysers.

These facilities will conduct confirmatory tests including Complete Blood Picture (CBP), Blood Glucose Tests, Liver Function Tests (LFTs) and Kidney Function Tests (KFTs).

Each of the three hubs is expected to process nearly 2,000 samples per day, with the pilot programme scheduled to run for 45 days. Sample collection teams will travel to every village, collecting around 50 samples daily, which will be transported under a cold-chain protocol to maintain sample integrity. District officials, Kuppam Area Development Authority (KADA), ASHA and ANM workers are playing a key role in mobilising community participation and ensuring smooth execution of the initiative.

Officials said the project represents a first-of-its-kind effort in India — combining large-scale health screening, data-driven diagnostics, and community engagement to map the comprehensive disease burden of a region.

Bavya Health Services, in partnership with the district administration, termed the initiative a ‘colossal endeavour’ that could serve as a model for state-wide implementation of the Universal Health Screening Programme in the coming months. KADA PD Vikas Narmat, MLC and government whip Kancharla Srikanth, APSRTC vice chairman PS Muniratnam, PKM UDA chairman Dr Suresh babu and others participated in the inauguration programme.