VARANASI, March 26 -- Additional director of medical health and family welfare, Varanasi Division, Dr Narendra Dev Sharma, has directed officials and doctors to bring all four districts into the top 20 ranking. Chairing a review meeting with the chief medical officers of all districts within the division, as well as officials concerned from the health department and the National Health Mission (NHM), on Wednesday, he directed that achievements aligned with set targets are realised within a stipulated timeframe. He directed all officials to ensure the effective implementation of public health schemes while maintaining the highest standards of quality and transparency, thereby ensuring superior healthcare services are made available to the common people. He noted that in the UP Health Dashboard rankings for January 2026, the Varanasi Division secured the first position across the state-a result of the coordinated efforts of all its constituent districts. In the district-wise rankings, Varanasi stood at 2nd position, Chandauli at the 11th, Jaunpur at the 22nd, and Ghazipur at 26th. All districts were commended for demonstrating improvement compared to the previous month. Sharma directed to ensure that every district secures a ranking within the top 20. During the review of institutional deliveries and C-section deliveries, the performance of Ghazipur and Jaunpur districts was found to be low; consequently, instructions were issued to undertake special efforts to boost these figures. Furthermore, upon observing a low TB notification rate in Jaunpur district, instructions were given to seek an explanation from the concerned district TB officer (DTO). Sharma directed ensuring prompt and complete disbursement of payments to all beneficiaries under the 'Nikshay Scheme' via direct benefit transfer (DBT). A review of the "Zero Poverty" target under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana revealed that while districts such as Ghazipur (98.80%), Jaunpur (99.50%), Chandauli (98.90%), and Varanasi (99.70%) have achieved high family coverage, the issuance of "Golden Cards" for thousands of beneficiaries remains pending. Specific instructions were issued to complete the pending Golden Cards-particularly for the families of ASHA and Anganwadi workers-through a special one-week campaign. Sharma also directed that the operator IDs created for various personnel be activated, and that the regular issuance of Golden Cards be ensured. Under the Family Welfare Program, instructions were given to increase the availability of temporary contraceptive methods and to ensure timely data entry on the FPLMIS portal....