Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Calls For “Comprehensive And Saturation Coverage Of All Health Schemes”

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday (July 15) stressed on the “need to ensure comprehensive and saturation coverage of all health schemes so that no eligible beneficiary is left behind”. The Health Minister hoped that the Chintan Shivir would provide suggestions on how to shore up existing healthcare facilities, as well as new interventions required across the country. Dr Mandaviya made these remarks as he chaired a two-day long Swasthya Chintan Shivir- the 15th Conference of Central Council of Health and Family Welfare, in Dehradun on July 14 and 15.

As per an official press release, in his inaugural address, Dr Mandaviya underlined the focus of the deliberative forum and said,

This Chintan Shivir can provide us with an opportunity to deep dive into different issues of the health sector.

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Further talking about the future of healthcare in India, he said,

In this Amrit Kaal, let us take ‘prerna’ (inspiration) from our own knowledge, and develop our own health model. We should resolve to remove burden of diseases such as Leprosy, Tuberculosis (TB), Sickle Cell Anaemia etc., from various states, and saturate states with PM-JAY cards.

Launched on September 23, 2018, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) aims at providing health cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 12 crores poor and vulnerable families. PM-JAY provides cashless access to health care services for the beneficiary at the hospital. It covers up to 3 days of pre-hospitalisation and 15 days post-hospitalisation expenses such as diagnostics and medicines.

According to the official data, as on July 13, 2023, over 5.36 crore hospital admissions have been authorised under the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY.

Dr Mandaviya further called for states to increase spending on healthcare, and ensured support from the government of India in this endeavor. He added,

It is important for every policy to evolve, and learnings need to be taken into consideration to improve them, to achieve the goal of creating better health outcomes for the citizens of the country.

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On day one of this two-day event, sessions were held on various verticals under Ayushman Bharat, including Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), Health and Wellness Centres, and Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

He called states to “design a vision document which will act like a roadmap for the next 25 years of the country’s Amrut Kaal to guide our efforts towards providing the best healthcare to the citizens of our states.”

Dr Mandaviya further advised centre and states to work together to create futuristic health policies for the country. He also encouraged states to hold their own Chintan Shivir, where localised solutions can be arrived at as per their specific healthcare needs and priorities. He also stressed the need to include the aspirations, and ideas of the newer generations in policy formulation in healthcare, to make it more inclusive.

According to official sources, “Ayushman gram sabhas” will be organised in all villages to ensure that the benefits of the health schemes of the central and state governments reach people and whichever village manages to saturate all the schemes will be declared an “Ayushman Village” – reported news agency PTI.

Talking about the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, Dr Mandaviya said,

Lok Bhagidari, people’s participation, is a very essential activity to eliminate the burden of Tuberculosis in the country. Our approach toward TB elimination shows the Indian approach to healthcare. I exhort people to come forward to become Nikshay Mitras, as it can go a long way to make India TB free.

He requested states to make TB elimination a priority, and give it further impetus. He also urged states to support the divyang (disabled) population of the country, by making it easier to issue disability certificates.

Also Read: Prisoners In India Five Times More At Risk Of Tuberculosis: Lancet Study

Dr. VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog at Swasthya Chintan Shivir said,

A holistic paradigm for healthcare has been created in the last two days with inputs from all present, and it is essential that the resolution that we pass today, is put into action, so the goals that have been set can be achieved by next year.

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami praised Atal Ayushman Yojana, providing health security to poor and needy sections of the country. He added,

E-sanjeevani has contributed in a big way to expanding the scope of health services through the use of technology.

While concluding the two-day event, Dr Mandaviya said,

The Swasthya Chintan Shivir should help bring us closer to the idea of last-mile connectivity in health. In the last two days, we have seen a detailed overview of the health sector in India today, and the direction that we should take going forward to ensure universal health coverage.

In his closing remarks, Dr Mandaviya added,

When we go back to our states from this immersive Chintan Shivir, let us employ the learnings from this conclave and resolve through our focused policies that we shall saturate the nation with Ayushman Bharat cards, and Ayushman Bharat Health Account IDs; and make our states TB Mukt, and also work towards eliminating leprosy, Kalaazar, and malaria from the country.

Also Read: Gujarat Government Launches Revamped PMJAY-MA Scheme With Rs 10 Lakh Health Cover

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.