CHANDIGARH, Apr 30: Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Thursday said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has taken a taken a long leap forward across all sectors, particularly in the healthcare sector, in its journey toward realising a ‘Viksit Bharat’.
“If I were to speak of these initiatives, I would highlight the strengthening of our health systems, of course in the areas of science, innovation, and technology,” Nadda said while addressing the 10th National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Systems here.
“We have taken a long leap in the last decade under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Modi, and many new initiatives that we have taken,” he said.
Nadda said above all is the policy which he frequently refers to, is the comprehensive health policy of 2017.
If we talk about the health policy which was initiated in 1997-98, was a curative health policy, which had been in place for a long time. The focus was on curative part, he said.
But in 2017, when we came out with a new policy that was a comprehensive, holistic and inclusive policy, he said.
It has prevention, promotion, curative part, rehabilitative part and geriatric part, he added.
On this occasion, Nadda launched Swasth Bharat and Janani portal, compendium on best practices, integrated training modules for primary healthcare team and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK-2.0).
Speaking about the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (Health and Wellness Centers), Nadda said around 1.85 lakh such centres have been set up which are the first contact point that connect 1.40 billion people.
“Our effort is to keep in mind the prevention part. Whether it is hypertension, diabetes, oral cancer, breast cancer, or cervical cancer, we have mandated screening for all these conditions at the age of 30,” said the health minister.
He further said due consideration to the Mother and Child Health programme has been given, under which we provide a comprehensive package of 12 services.
“We have expanded Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and now the time for consolidation so that we provide quality support and get quality outcome and this necessitates capacity building,” said Nadda.
He informed that out of approximately 1.85 lakh centres, the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) have been implemented in 50,000 centres.
“However, we should not feel satisfied and happy. Still a larger task is left which we have to do,” he said.
“We should do continuously audit and we must also develop methodologies of audit to assess the performance and functioning of our ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandirs’,” he said.
The Union health minister further informed about the mother and child health programme, saying the rate of institutional deliveries has risen from 79 per cent to 89 per cent.
It is a good increase but we should not become complacent, he added.
Referring to the UN report of 2025, he said Under-5 Mortality Rate has dropped by 79 per cent, while the Infant mortality rate declined by 73 per cent.
On the World Health Organization’s (WHO)’s ‘World Malaria Report’, he said India accounts for one-sixth of the global population and malarias cases were detected in just 0.7 per cent people.
Speaking about the summit, Nadda said it demonstrates the strategic potential for creating an effective health system under the aegis of the National Health Mission.
It is, undoubtedly, a highly effective and practical platform that we all utilize, he added.
On this occasion, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Haryana health minister Arti Singh Rao and other senior officers were also present. (PTI)
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