Centre aims to establish 1,100 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in Delhi by March 31, 2026

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Health Minister JP Nadda on Sunday urged all stakeholders to work dedicatedly towards implementing PM-ABHIM (Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission) in Delhi, and fulfil the target of opening 1,100 Ayushman Arogya mandirs by March 31, 2026, with an outlay of Rs 1,700 crore.

The minister distributed appointment letters to Delhi nursing officers and paramedical staff and flagged off Ayushman Bharat Registration Vans, in the presence of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at Vigyan Bhawan here.

"This is a momentous occasion as today, after 15 years, our nursing officers and paramedical staff are receiving appointment letters. With this, the Delhi government is working towards strengthening the healthcare system by recruiting a specialised workforce," Nadda said.

He underlined that Delhi observes the highest healthcare load as people across the country come to Delhi for treatment, and earlier, the healthcare system faced negligence.

The Minister commended the efforts of the current Delhi government for strengthening the healthcare infrastructure and implementing Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) and PM-ABHIM.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ayushman Vay Vandana was introduced to ensure healthcare for the senior citizens above the age of 70. The Delhi government is working in this direction of ensuring the right to be healthy throughout life with dignity under Vay Vandana," the Health Minister noted.

Till date, 4 lakh Ayushman Cards have been issued in Delhi, with 2 lakh cards issued under Vay Vandana.

He urged all stakeholders to work dedicatedly towards implementing PM-ABHIM in Delhi and fulfil the target of opening 1,100 Ayushman Arogya mandirs till March 31, 2026.

"In 1997, the Health Policy focused primarily on curative care, while under the visionary leadership of PM, the New Health Policy 2017 was introduced with a philosophy of comprehensive care—preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative - with a special focus on geriatric care," said the minister.

He highlighted that "special emphasis is being given to preventive healthcare, under which initiatives for early diagnosis for different diseases have been undertaken. We are focusing on screenings of individuals over the age of 30 and working towards stalling the spread of diseases through early diagnosis".

"Till now, 18 crore screenings for hypertension, 17 crore screenings for diabetes, 15 crore screenings for oral cancer, 7.5 crore screenings for breast cancer and 4.5 crore screenings for cervical cancer have been conducted," said Nadda.

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has declined from 130 to 88 per lakh live births, while Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) dropped from 39 to 26. Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) has declined at a rate of 42 per cent, while the global decline is 14 per cent. The neonatal mortality rate has declined by 40 per cent rate while the global average decline was 11 per cent.

Nadda also added that "TB incidence has reduced by 17.7 per cent, which is more than double the global decline rate of 8.3 per cent, which is confirmed by the WHO Global TB Report 2024".

India only had 7 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) till 2014, but today, 20 AIIMS are operational.

"The number of medical colleges has increased from 387 in 2014 to 780; the number of medical seats has increased from 51,000 to 1,18,000, aiming for a total increase of 75,000 seats over the next five years," the Health Minister said.

On the occasion, CM Gupta stated: "Till now, 4 lakh Ayushman cards have been distributed under the Ayushman Arogya Yojana, which includes 2 lakh Vay Vandana Cards issued to the senior citizens of Delhi. A total of 2,258 individuals have already received medical treatment. 108 hospitals of Delhi have been empanelled under the scheme."

She also underlined that "every hospital of Delhi has a Jan Aushadhi Kendra now that ensures access to medicines to all". She also highlighted the efforts of the Delhi government to ensure transparency in the healthcare system while keeping corruption at bay.

--IANS

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