KOCHI: The Kerala government has ordered the renaming of the family health centres (FHC) as ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandirs’, toeing the Union government’s line on the branding of health centres under the National Health Mission (NHM).
The order directs the FHCs and urban family health centres across the state to adopt the name ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandir’, with the tagline ‘Arogyam Paramam Dhanam’ written in Malayalam and English, along with the vernacular name of the centres, with immediate effect.
Though the Union government had in November last year asked all states to name the centres under NHM as ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandir’, the co-branding was rejected by the Kerala government citing linguistic and cultural differences.
The non-adherence to the directive reportedly resulted in a delay in fund distribution from the Centre to the state. This had also triggered a wider debate on federalism, secularism and public health policy in the country.
“The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare revised the branding guidelines and directed to rename the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres as Ayushman Arogya Mandir along with the tagline ‘Arogyam Paramam Dhanam’ in November 2023, and the state governments were requested to rename the centres accordingly. Based on the directions from the Government of India, the state government is pleased to issue the branding guidelines for Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres,” said the Kerala Government order, dated June 26.
The order also directs a change of the colour of the outer walls to yellow metal, as prescribed by the Union government.
‘State’s refusal led to fund crunch’
The 15th Finance Commission health grants will be used for the same.
Currently, the state has 886 family health centres named ‘Kudumba Arogyakendram’.
“The state government’s refusal to co-brand the projects led to a fund crunch as the Union government refused to disburse the NHM grant due for the state in 2023-2024. Several activities of these centres are being carried out using these central funds,” said an official with NHM in Ernakulam.
“Around 60% of the funds for paying salary of NHM staff are provided by the Central government. Due to fund shortage, NHM employees in the state have not been receiving their salaries for the past two months,” said the official.
