New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) The government aims at reaching out to seven crore families under the Ayushman Bhav campaign, which will be launched on Wednesday, to ensure optimum delivery of health schemes, officials said.
On Tuesday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a virtual interaction with health ministers and senior officers of states and union territories to take stock of the preparations for the launch of the campaign.
With an average of five members in a family, the Union health ministry has set a target of making Ayushman cards for an estimated 35 crore people till October 2 to bring them under the ambit of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY), official sources said.
In 2018, the government had decided to include 50 crore people in the Ayuhsman Bharat health insurance scheme based on the 2011 Census. It has, so far, generated Ayushman Bharat cards for 25 crore beneficiaries.
Now, the government is in the process of including 10 crore more eligible beneficiaries under the scheme since no fresh Census has been conducted since 2011, the sources said.
The Ayushman Bhav campaign will be launched by the President on September 13 virtually, Mandaviya had said.
On Tuesday, the minister said that this historic launch will mark a significant leap towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and ensuring healthcare for all.
The Ayushman Bhav campaign, initiated by the health ministry is a comprehensive nationwide healthcare initiative that aims to provide saturation coverage of healthcare services, reaching every village and town in the country. “The campaign will be implemented during the ‘Seva Pakhwada’ starting from the PM’s birthday on September 17 and will continue till October 2, embodying a whole-of-nation and whole-of-society approach,” Mandvaiya said.
The Ayushman Bhav campaign is a collaborative effort spearheaded by gram panchayats in coordination with health and other departments, and local elected bodies in rural and urban areas. “Its core objective is to extend comprehensive healthcare coverage to every village and town, transcending geographical barriers and ensuring that no one is left behind,” the minister 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, the officials said Through the Ayushman Apke Dwar 3.0 initiative, the government aims to provide Ayushman cards to the remaining eligible beneficiaries enrolled under the PM-JAY scheme, ensuring that more individuals have access to essential health services.
The Ayushman Melas at HWCs and CHCs will facilitate the creation of ABHA IDs (Health IDs) and issuance of Ayushman Bharat Cards. They will also offer early diagnosis, comprehensive primary health care services, teleconsultation with specialists, and appropriate referrals, Mandaviya said.
Under Ayushman Sabhas, 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.
“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,” Health Minister Mandaviya said.
Highlighting the importance of the Ayushman Bhav initiative for states and union territories, he asked states and union territories to organise health melas in the health and wellness centres every year and urged every medical college to hold a health camp at the block level.
Underlining the complementarity of cleanliness and good health, he exhorted states to ensure that all villages hold Swachchta Drives on October 2. He also underscored the importance of organ donation and blood donation which were recently added as the sixth and seventh pillars of the Ayushman Bharat Initiative, the officials said.
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, according to a letter written by Mandaviya to all cabinet ministers and chief ministers.
During the ‘Seva Pakhwada’, all blood banks will organise at least one blood donation camp to ensure smooth availability of blood and its components in the future. Cleanliness drives at all public health facilities at primary, secondary and tertiary health care levels will be held with the support of gram panchayat members and others.
Besides, during Seva Pakhwada ‘Ni-kshay Mitra 2.0’ is likely to be launched to upgrade the list of TB patients and Ni-kshay Mitra. PTI PLB ANB ANB
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