Union Cabinet Approves Extension Of National Health Mission For Another Five Years

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (22 January) approved continuation of the National Health Mission for another five years.

Briefing reporters about the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the Mission has met historic targets in the past 10 years.

Goyal pointed out that nearly 12 lakh health-care workers joined the National Health Mission (NHM) between 2021 and 2022 and India fought the Covid-19 pandemic under the Mission.

The National Health Mission (NHM), launched in 2005 under its earlier avatar as the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), aims to build robust public health systems that ensure accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare for the rural population, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups, extending services up to the District Hospital (DH) level.

In 2012, the scope of the mission expanded with the introduction of the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), catering to urban healthcare needs.

This led to the NRHM being restructured and renamed as the NHM, incorporating both the NRHM and NUHM as its two key sub-missions.

The NHM framework has also played a crucial role in strengthening the public health system, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By utilising the existing network of healthcare facilities and workers, NHM was pivotal in administering over 220 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses between January 2021 and March 2024.

Additionally, the India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package (ECRP), implemented under NHM in two phases, helped further bolster the healthcare system to effectively manage the pandemic.

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