Accessibility to Healthcare Services

Accessibility to Healthcare Services

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in April 2005 to provide accessible, affordable and quality health care to the rural population, especially the vulnerable sections. Healthcare services are provided through a network of 148124 Sub centres, 23887 Primary Health Centres, 4809 Community Health Centres and 985 District Hospitals across the country. Apart from this, tertiary care to the people especially the poor and under privileged is provided through the Government Medical Colleges and other super-speciality Hospitals.

One of the key strategies NRHM is to ensure inter-sectoral convergence with other Ministries dealing with proximate determinants of health like drinking water, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, literacy especially female education etc. Addressing inequalities through different programmes of healthcare like Janani Suraksha Yojana, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram(JSSK), Universal Immunization Programme(UIP), various National Disease Control Programmes etc.is a major objective of NRHM.

Government is taking effective steps through Schemes and programmes of different Ministries e.g., NRHM, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(MNREGA), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA), Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission(JNNURM),Total Sanitation Campeign(TSC), Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGND WM) etc. to address the social determinants of health.

The above information was laid in the Rajya Sabha today by the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad.