Mansukh Mandaviya speaks to state health ministers, officials on ‘Ayushman Bhava’ programme

New Delhi [India]: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a virtual interaction with health ministers and senior officers of States and Union Territories (UT) on Tuesday to take stock of the preparations underway for the launch of ‘Ayushman Bhava’ programme.

Mandaviya highlighted the importance of the Ayushman Bhava initiative for all states and UTs. He stressed the states and UTs to organize Health Melas in the Health and Wellness Centres every year and urged every medical college to hold a Health Camp at the block level.

He emphasized that this would ensure that patients getting screened at the Health Melas can access timely treatment at the Health Melas, a press release from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated.

Underlining the complementarity of cleanliness and good health, he exhorted the states to ensure that all villages held Swachchta Drive on October 2. He also underscored the importance of organ donation and blood donation which have recently been added as the sixth and seventh pillars of the Ayushman Bharat Initiative.

The ‘Ayushman Bhava’ campaign, initiated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is a comprehensive nationwide healthcare initiative that aims to provide saturation coverage of healthcare services, reaching every village and town in the country. This groundbreaking initiative builds upon the success of the Ayushman Bharat program and signifies a paradigm shift in healthcare services, the release stated.

The campaign, which will be implemented during the ‘Seva Pakhwada’ from September 17 to October 2 unites government sectors, civil society organizations and communities under a common mission to ensure that every individual receives essential health services without any disparity or exclusion.

The Ayushman Bhav campaign is a collaborative effort spearheaded by Gram Panchayats in coordination with the Department of Health, other government departments, and local elected bodies in rural and urban areas. Its core objective is to extend comprehensive healthcare coverage to every village and town, the release stated.

This synergistic approach aims to saturate coverage of health services through its three components Ayushman – Apke Dwar 3.0, Ayushman Melas at Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Ayushman Sabhas in every village and panchayat, it added.