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National Health Mission – Features, Benefits, NHM UPSC

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 14th, 2023

National Health Mission (NHM) is one of the programs launched by the Indian Government in 2013 to strengthen the healthcare system in the country. In India, many poor do not have access to healthcare facilities, which deteriorates their health. Many could not afford health services due the financial problems. The National Health Mission aims to provide accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare to all citizens, especially those living in rural and remote areas.

As a critical program toward achieving universal health coverage, the National Health Mission has played a crucial role in improving health outcomes and reducing health inequities in India. National Health Mission should be covered comprehensively by the UPSC aspirants as this topic is part of the General Studies paper in Mains.

What is The National Health Mission?

The National Health Mission was launched by the Ministry of Health and family welfare in 2013 to ensure the proper distribution of health services to poor people. In many rural areas, there is still a lack of health services which affects the health of poor rural people.

National Health Mission UPSC Notes

National Health Mission is the best decision by the government to make services accessible to the poor class. These services will bring reform in healthcare services, which will result in the development health system in India.

Components of the National Health Mission

The National Health Mission is a comprehensive program that consists of various components aimed at improving the healthcare system in India. Some of the key components of the NHM are:

National Rural Health Mission

Under this Scheme, special services are given to the rural people and ensure they get proper healthcare. Here the focus is more on less disadvantaged areas like Jammu, Himachal, and Andhra Pradesh, where health facilities are so poor. In this Scheme, the first preference will be given to the rural poor class.

National Urban Health Mission

This Scheme especially focuses on the urban poor who are unable to afford the services due to economic problems. This Scheme will provide health services to the urban poor at a lower price than affordable prices to reduce the cost of treatment from their pockets.

Tertiary Care Programme

The cabinet committees of economic affairs headed by the prime minister continued the tertiary care program in the various regions to deal with communicable and non-communicable diseases and E-health.

NHM – Human Resources for Health And Medical Education

Under this Scheme, the government tries to focus on the performance of healthcare practitioners; this focus on improving the services of medical professionals by improving the research and training process in the medical and health institutes. They provided the best equipment and a variety of topics which can help to enhance research among the practitioners. As a result, even most practitioners will get opportunities to research in various fields to expand the horizon of medical study. This will improve the services and overall health facilities.

Background of National Health Mission

The National Health Mission’s main purpose was to provide the best health services to all people despite their financial status. Having a good health facility is the right of every individual. Therefore, Scheme plans to give quality services to all people beyond their financial status to improve their medical situation of poor.

  • Through the National Health Mission, the healthcare insurance policy can become more robust and transparent. It will help the poor to get insurance easily for medical services and can remove the financial barriers from their shoulders to afford the best healthcare services.
  • The government also tries very hard to provide healthcare services at every possible level through National Health Mission. The government introduced healthcare services on a Digital platform, patients get healthcare services within a few clicks, and services can be provided at every place in less time. This feature will bring a major revolution to the world.
  • They want to provide the best equipment and resources to healthcare and medical institutions to provide proper training to the health personnel, which can later provide quality services to people with enhanced knowledge and experience.
  • National Health Mission will also encourage the private player to indulge in public health and invest in resources and equipment.
  • This will make healthcare services super flexible. It means any person can have access to healthcare services. Healthcare services are already introduced on digital platforms to improve and enhance accessibility.
  • National Health Mission will make all the services of health and medical digitalized. It means that services like signatures, payments, and records will all become digitalized; hence it will promote the idea of a digital India.

Benefits Of the National Health Mission

National Health Mission will help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of health services. It also offers various benefits like-

  • National Health Mission will also help to keep all health records and keep them accessible and transparent to medical service providers for better functioning.
  • These services will provide the choice of both public and private sectors. So people can get both the option to get the health services of their own choice.
  • National Health Mission will also help to maintain proper healthcare infrastructure, which will help to provide the best services to poor people at a reasonable price.
  • It will allow various practitioners to research in various fields and be able to study various programs. This will improve the effectiveness and intervention in various programs. Better training will lead to better services.

Major Initiatives Under National Health Mission

Under the National Health Mission, various measures are taken to ensure that the Scheme could benefit the people. Different initiatives provide different benefits; let’s discuss some of them.

United Grants To Sub-Centers

These different grants are given to healthcare providers so that they can provide better services to patients. Grants could be made in the form of resources, money, or equipment, depending on the situation and condition of the service provider.

Village Health And Sanitation Committees

They plan and monitor the various public services initiated in various areas to tackle the health situation in various areas. Many members of this are a member of Panchayati Raj, and there are around 5 lakh village health and sanitation committees in different areas.

Janani Suraksha Yojana

This initiative encourages women to take health care services from the public sector during their pregnancy. This will also improve the maternal mortality rate for women.

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram

There were no expenses for health services from public services, so women could take the services during their pregnancy without any problem. Even after the delivery, the infant can get a free check-up for up to 1 year under this Scheme.

National Ambulance Services

Under the services, a person can get timely and affordable ambulance service just by dialing a toll-free number. The service is managed by the National Health Mission (NHM) and is a part of the larger healthcare system in the country.

Comprehensive Primary Health Care

It improves access to information, communication, and technology. Having access to technology can help in easy access to the services. It enhances the quality of care and improves these access to technology, drugs, and diagnostics. Having a well-structured infrastructure is beneficial in the healthcare facility.

Features of the National Health Mission

The National Health Mission comprises 5 blocks: Health ID, digital doctor, personal health record, telemedicine, and pharmacy.

  • The national health authority is responsible for taking care of designs and all the implementation of such healthcare missions to get the desired result.
  • All these major blocks are managed and maintained by the government.
  • The private sector also has a chance to integrate its products into the market through National Health Mission. They can launch any of the new services and can provide services to the patients under this Scheme easily through improved accessibility.
  • Every Indian will get a health ID, which will record everything about the patients under National Health Mission. This step will make it easy for the medical service provider to keep a record of all patients. These ID cards contain all information about treatment, prescriptions, and reports.
  • Citizens also get access to information about their health at once while visiting a healthcare provider through National Health Mission. This means records of the patients remain with the doctor safely and securely and are accessible by patients anytime.

Issues with National Health Mission

In the National Health Mission, Data that is collected from the patients does not remain private and are not protected by any law. So, in any case of a data leak, there will be no legal action taken against such cases even though it is a cybercrime. It does not align with the privacy principle advised by the experts to protect data which puts the question on the security of data. There might be the possibility of foreign surveillance can also control data collected under National Health Missions.

Scope of National Health Mission

It will include a huge world under the medical coverage facilities, and it will give health benefits to many people, especially rural poor people.

  • This will provide the best health and well-being facility to all despite economic factors.
  • Patients will be able to know about the activity of the medical workers, as they can get their exact report of their performance. This will increase accountability in the medical structure.
  • This mission will help to provide the best healthcare services to those people who are unable to access these services. Healthcare services are essential for all, and no one should be restricted from them due to any reason.

National Health Mission UPSC

National Health Mission finds its mentions in the UPSC Syllabus under government schemes, health & Government Policies & Interventions.  As a critical program toward achieving universal health coverage, the NHM has played a crucial role in improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities in the country. Thus, understanding the various components of the National Health Mission and its impact on the healthcare system is essential for aspirants appearing for the Civil Services Exam.

NHM UPSC Questions

Question 1: Which of the following statements is true regarding the National Health Mission? a) It was launched in 2005 b) It aims to provide financial support for medical tourism c) It is exclusively for urban areas d) It aims to provide accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare to rural and urban population

Answer: d) It aims to provide accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare to rural and urban population

Question 2: Which of the following is not a component of the National Health Mission? a) National Rural Health Mission b) National Urban Health Mission c) National Mental Health Mission d) National Nutrition Mission

Answer: d) National Nutrition Mission

Question 3: The National Health Mission aims to provide universal access to: a) Sanitation facilities b) Clean drinking water c) Primary healthcare d) Secondary and tertiary healthcare

Answer: c) Primary healthcare

UPSC Notes
Minimum Support Price Goods and Services Tax
Poverty in India Shanghai Cooperation Organisation 
Uniform Civil Code Delimitation Commission
National Health Mission Gig Economy
Inclusive Growth World Trade Organisation
Statue of Equality FATF
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