New Health Campaign, ‘Ayushman Bhav’ To Reach Out 7 Crore Families: All You Need To Know About The Initiative

New Delhi: “No person should be left behind and no village should be left behind. 100 per cent people can avail health services. This goal will make our country successful in achieving the objective of Universal health coverage in true sense,” said President Droupadi Murmu as she launches India’s new health initiative Ayushman Bhav today (September 13). The Ayushman Bhav campaign will be rolled out as ‘Seva Pakhwada’ starting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 73rd birthday on September 17 till October 2. During this time, several activities will take place that will help enhance healthcare accessibility and awareness across India.

With this new health initiative, the government aims to reach out to seven crore families. President Droupadi Murmu said,

The Prime Minister has given central importance to Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of ‘Antyodaya’ in his activities. This campaign will provide health services to the last person in the last village and is inspired by the ideal of ‘Antyodaya’.

She further noted that during the G20 meeting members nations put forth a clear road map for the group’s 2023 action plan for accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and said,

The Government of India has set localised Sustainable Development Goals in order to achieve the UN’s SDG 2030. Under this, a major focus is on development works at the rural level.

Here’s a quick lowdown on the new health initiative:

Ayushman Bhav Campaign

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the core objective of the campaign is to extend comprehensive healthcare coverage to every village and town, transcending geographical barriers and ensuring that no one is left behind.

The official statement from the ministry about the campaign said,

This synergistic approach aims to saturate coverage of health services through its three components Ayushman – Apke Dwar 3.0, Ayushman Melas at Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), and Ayushman Sabhas in every village and panchayat.

Also Read: This Is What ‘Health For All’ Looks Like: WHO Chief On India’s Commitment Towards Healthcare And Traditional Medical Practices

Services The Ayushman Bhav Initiative Includes

Through the Ayushman Apke Dwar 3.0 initiative, the government aims to provide Ayushman cards to the remaining eligible beneficiaries enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PMJAY) scheme, ensuring that more individuals have access to essential health services. Union health ministry has set a target of making Ayushman cards for an estimated 35 crore people by October 2 to bring them under the ambit of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY).

The Ayushman Melas at HWCs and CHCs will facilitate the creation of ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) IDs (Health IDs) and issuance of Ayushman Bharat Cards. The services that will be provided include early diagnosis, comprehensive primary health care services, teleconsultation with specialists, and appropriate referrals.

Also Read: Women Account For Nearly 49 Per Cent Of Beneficiaries Of Health Insurance Scheme AB-PMJAY: Centre

Ayushman Sabhas or gatherings in every village and panchayat will play a pivotal role in distributing Ayushman cards, generating ABHA IDs, and raising awareness about vital health schemes and disease conditions, such as non-communicable diseases, tuberculosis (Nikshay Mitra), sickle cell disease, as well as blood donation and organ donation drives.

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said,

The Ayushman Bhav campaign is aligned with the vision of creating ‘Healthy Villages’ and ‘Healthy Gram Panchayats’, laying the foundation for achieving Universal Health Coverage in the country. Panchayats that successfully saturate the health schemes will earn the prestigious title of ‘Ayushman Gram Panchayat’ or ‘Ayushman Urban Ward,’ symbolising their dedication to equitable healthcare provision.

The new health campaign also includes organ donation and blood donation initiative, which were recently added as the sixth and seventh pillars of the Ayushman Bharat. An online organ donation pledge registry will be initiated during the ‘Sewa Pakhwada’ to register the pledges of willing citizens all over the country. A 24×7 toll-free helpline number — 1800114770 — is functional for providing any guidance related to the pledging process or information on organ donation.

About The Ayushman Bharat Scheme 

The flagship scheme – The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is being implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) and provides a health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 12 crore beneficiary families. The scheme aims to cover the bottom 40 per cent of the poor and vulnerable population in India based on the ranking of households on the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011.

According to the official guidelines, following people can avail the benefits under the scheme:

1. People living in scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households
2. Families with no male members aged 16 to 59 years
3. Beggars
4. Families with no individuals aged between 16 and 59 years.
5. Families having at least one physically challenged member
6. Landless households who make a living by working as casual manual labourers
7. Primitive tribal communities
8. Legally released bonded labourers
9. Families living in one-room makeshift houses with no proper walls or roof
10. Manual scavenger families

Till now, Centre’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPM-JAY) has achieved 5 crore hospital admissions amounting to Rs 61,501 crore worth free treatment of people.

Also Read: G20 Health Ministers Call For Building Resilient, Equitable Access To Affordable Medicines In Developing World

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 – theLGBTQ 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 currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) 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, fightmalnutrition, 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 likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.