Tirupati, Sep 8

Actor Vishnu Manchu Monday announced here the launch of rural health scheme in five villages in Chandragiri mandal.

The aim is to enhance access to health services in the backward regions.

"Our vision is good health and healthy life for all," Vishnu said in a statement.

"We want them to lead a healthy life so that they can focus on their livelihood. In fact, health, sanitation and hygiene are vital for economic productivity and these are areas which need attention right now in a rural setting," he added.

Vishnu said that an important aspect of the services is to "record the medical diagnosis and treatment history of the beneficiaries", which will help the doctors provide "better care in future".

"So the data of thousands of villagers will be stored and can be retrieved by them whenever they want and also every year they can compare their health statistics," he added.

Students of Sree Vidyanikethan, owned by Vishnu's actor father Mohan Babu, will work as volunteers in the scheme as part of the institution's social responsibility team "Army Green".

By 2015, Vishnu hopes to cover "100 villages through the scheme".