NEW DELHI: To deal with the emerging challenges of urbanisation and non-communicable diseases, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has finally initiated the process of launching the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) on the lines of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
After the success of the NRHM, the NUHM was conceptualised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Inaugurating the two-day deliberations of WHO South East Asian Region’s meeting on Universal Health Coverage, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Tuesday that the Centre accords great importance to ensure equitable health care to all its citizens. Azad said, “learning from this experience (NRHM), we intend to launch the Urban Health Mission in the near future.”
The NUHM is aimed to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to 22 crore people living
in urban slums in 429 cities.
The Health Minister said: “At this point in time, there is sufficient evidence and the experience from all over the globe which indicates that universal health coverage is a potential tool that can reduce prevalent health inequities, contribute to human development and accelerate our quest for health for all.”
Since the nationwide launch of NUHM would take some more months, the ministry has identified 33 major cities having population of one million or more for mobile facilities to carry out diagnostic tests for diabetes and hypertension among the urban poor, and linking those in need of treatment to hospital facilities for free care.
The NUHM would also forge partnerships with the Ministry of Urban Development, which is implementing a flagship programme to improve the basic infrastructure in the urban slums.