The National Health Mission (NHM) will focus on decentralisation to enhance the reach and effectiveness of various health programmes under it, Union Health Minister J P Nadda today said.
Nadda said this during the third meeting of the Mission Steering Group of the NHM here attended among others by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya.
"NHM will focus on devolution, decentralisation and timely responsiveness to enhance the reach and effectiveness of the health programmes under it," Nadda said.
Various points including enhancement of reach, outlay and facilities within components of the NHM, immunisation, capacity-building of health workers, national blindness control programme and leprosy programme were discussed during the meeting.
A Health Ministry statement said that several suggestions were made by the non-official members including taking up daily regimen across the country for TB, increasing the basket of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), strengthening and synergising surveillance with introduction of vaccines.
Nadda said the suggestions would be taken into consideration to prpare a roadmap for interventions to be taken up in the future.
During the meeting, Naidu also talked about various initiatives taken by his ministry towards healthy living like 'Smart Cities', which will have well-defined protocols for waste management, drinking water, sanitation and cleanliness.
He said that the quality of services provided in all public health institutions should be uniform and should attract the public.
Nadda also spoke of the expansion of full immunisation coverage through Mission Indradhanush, which has registered a "five per cent" increase in one year compared to the earlier rate of about just one per cent.
Nadda said capacity building of states have been done through health system-strengthening approach which has benefited many programmes at the grassroots-level while 'Kayakalp' initiative has been introduced with an emphasis on practices and protocols for enhancing sanitation and cleanliness in all government health facilities.
He said that new initiatives in the TB progamme such as induction of 600 CBNAAT machines and launching of Bedaquiline, a new anti-TB drug at six referral sites had been taken while recent announcements under the budget have been made such as the health protection scheme and free dialysis centres in all districts.
After the meeting, the Union Health Minister said that ASHA workers will now also be deployed in urban areas.
"Happy to inform ASHA workers will be deployed in urban areas also," Nadda said in a tweet.
