Bhubaneswar, Oct. 7: The National Urban Health Mission and the municipal corporation will create awareness on health issues through videos and folk shows.

They would hire separate agencies to motivate communities through their shows and create awareness about health facts. 'The aim is to cover the urban poor and make them aware of healthy practices so that they don't contract dengue, jaundice and other viral diseases,' said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

The urban health mission and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation have taken up the Swasthya Kantha initiative at various localities of the city, where volunteers go and write facts about various health issues to sensitise people. The agencies have now decided to make the initiative a comprehensive awareness drive.

'The urban poor, especially slum dwellers, are vulnerable to many common diseases, which can be avoided easily by adopting safe health practices such as washing hands and using toilets,' said social worker Namrata Mohanty.

Mohanty said besides these basic practices, the urban poor didn't follow precautions after contracting a disease. 'If you are suffering from dengue, jaundice or any such diseases, you need to follow some remedial measures besides being on medication, but due to lack of knowledge, the urban poor don't follow these measures,' she said.

In the new plan, the civic body and the health agency will hire experts to motivate various communities through traditional and cultural messages. There will be shows, in which videos will be shown to gatherings of up to 50 people followed by a discussion.

'We have mentioned our requirement to be incorporated in videos and folk shows based on the heath and other such social issues. The shows need to be specific so that they deliver the desired result,' said an official of the urban health mission.