In a major boost to health infrastructure, the government today cleared a proposal for continuation of the National Health Mission till March 31, 2020 with a budgetary support of Rs 85,217 crore, according to an official statement
One of the key objectives of the mission would be to reduce 'Out Of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE)' on health care, it said.
The proposal which was approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will continue to strengthen the public health systems, particularly in high-priority districts that include aspirational districts.
During the extended period, National Health Mission will seek to improve key health indicators such as Neo-natal Mortality Rate (NMR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Total Fertility Rate, it said.
Besides, the programme will strive to reduce incidence of communicable diseases, and improvement in coverage and utilisation of routine immunisation services and also those for non-communicable diseases.
According to the statement, NHM will be the principle vehicle for the universal health coverage.
With the approval of the extension of the NHM, there would be a shift from selective to comprehensive primary health care that includes care for common non-communicable diseases, geriatric health care, palliative care and rehabilitative care services etc. through strengthening of the SHCs/PHCs as Health and Wellness Centres, the statement added.
There would be a special focus on reducing OOPE with intensification of initiatives such as NHM free drugs and diagnostics services initiatives, Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme etc.
