Gaya, May 14: The health department would soon appoint 394 assistant professors in medical colleges and 1,500 doctors in district hospitals across the state.

State health department secretary-cum-executive director of the Bihar State Health Society (BSHS) Sanjay Kumar said the proposal for the appointment of assistant professors and other doctors has been sent to the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

The appointment process is likely to start by the end of June this year. Sanjay Kumar and state social welfare principal secretary Sandeep Poundrik jointly inaugurated a two-day meeting on Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) at Bodhgaya today.

The meeting would deliberate on plans to reduce mortality of children under the age of five and to contribute to their healthy growth and development.

Kumar admitted that there is a shortage of doctors across the state but still their target to reduce the infant mortality rate to 38 from the current 48 per 1000 children.

As many as 1.16 lakh children die every year in Bihar out of which two-thirds die in their first month. “Effective implementation of IMNCI would be possible by involvement of auxiliary nurse midwives, aanganwadi workers, accredited social health workers and the grassroots functionaries,” Kumar said.

Civil surgeons, integrated child development scheme district programme managers and the nodal officers (health) of IMNCI are participating in the review-cum-orientation and planning meeting.