New Delhi: In an attempt to strengthen nursing workforce in the country, on Wednesday (April 26), the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the establishment of 157 new nursing colleges with a budget outlay of Rs. 1,570 crore. These nursing colleges will be in co-location with the existing medical colleges established since 2014. Rs. 10 crore will be spent on building each college, and the 157 colleges will be ready in the next 24 months, said Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya while addressing the media. He said,
There are three types of nurses: Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives (ANM), General Nurses and Midwives (GNM) and Graduate Nurses who have completed four-year undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The demand for BSc Nursing has increased in our country and the world as well.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 2.5 medical staff (physicians, nurses and midwives) per 1,000 people are needed to provide adequate coverage with primary care interventions. But India has only 1.7 medical staff per 1,000 people.
The decision has been taken with the aim to provide quality, affordable, and equitable nursing education in India, particularly in underserved districts and States and Union Territories. The move will add approximately 15,700 nursing graduates every year.
The initiative has also been undertaken as a part of the national mandate for Universal Health Care (UHC) and will help in attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
According to an official statement, the co-location of these nursing colleges with existing medical colleges will allow optimal utilisation of the existing infrastructure, skill labs, clinical facilities, and faculty.
The press release stated,
This initiative is expected to provide better clinical exposure to nursing students and will also result in better care and service provision for patients in medical colleges. Use of green technologies will also be explored in these nursing colleges and will be adopted as per relevancy to ensure energy efficiency and reduction in carbon footprint.
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The initiative also aims to address the geographical and rural-urban imbalances in the healthcare sector, resulting in skewed availability of nursing professionals in certain areas.
Currently, India has 5,324 nursing institutes. Sharing the data on the imbalance, Dr Mandaviya said,
Down South, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have 40 per of the country’s nursing colleges. Whereas, 13 states don’t have a single nursing college. In Bihar, only 2 government-run nursing colleges are there, the other 10 are private. We will establish 8 more government-run colleges in the state. Similarly, Jharkhand has three BSc nursing colleges (one government and two private); five new colleges will be opened.
The Union Health Minister said that a lot of Indian nurses move abroad, creating a gap in our country. Hence, it is crucial to fulfill the demand for nurses. He said,
The UK has 24,000 Indian nurses, the US has 16,000, Australia has 12,000, followed by 5,000 India nurses in Canada and 10,000 in Gulf nations.
Dr Mandaviya believes that opening up of new colleges will help achieve the country’s nursing requirement and will also provide youngsters with an opportunity to pursue BSc nursing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the decision saying it is great news for India’s aspiring nursing professionals. The co-location with existing medical colleges also signifies optimum use of resources, he said.
This Cabinet decision is great news for India’s aspiring nursing professionals. The co-location with existing medical colleges also signifies optimum use of resources. https://t.co/nOE2EbY3kq https://t.co/SVOzcvBi8Y
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 27, 2023
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
