• The Union Cabinet extended the National Health Mission (NHM) until 2026, emphasizing its role in improving healthcare access and quality.
  • Key achievements include reductions in maternal and infant mortality rates, significant Covid-19 vaccination efforts, and enhanced disease control.

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the National Health Mission (NHM) for another five years, following a review of its progress over the past three years.

First launched in 2005 as the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the scheme has been extended periodically. Its most recent extension, approved by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure (OM No. 01(01)/PFC-I/2022 dated 1st February 2022), allows the National Health Mission to continue from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2026 or until further review, whichever is earlier, subject to adherence to Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) recommendations and financial ceilings.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, speaking at a cabinet briefing, emphasized the NHM’s significant contributions to public health. According to a cabinet statement, the mission has been instrumental in enhancing healthcare access and quality, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The mission’s efforts have transformed India’s health landscape, putting the country on track to achieve its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) health targets well ahead of the 2030 deadline,” Goyal stated.

Since its extension in 2021, NHM has made substantial progress in areas such as maternal and child health, disease elimination, and healthcare infrastructure development. Key achievements include a 25% decline in the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), from 130 per 100,000 live births in 2014-16 to 97 per 100,000 in 2018-20.

Similarly, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) dropped from 39 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 28 in 2020. These figures suggest that India is on course to meet its SDG targets for maternal, child, and infant mortality well ahead of the 2030 deadline.

Between the fiscal years 2022 and 2024, the NHM recruited over 1.2 million healthcare workers, including general duty medical officers, specialists, staff nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives, Ayush doctors, allied healthcare workers, and public health managers. The mission also played a pivotal role in administering more than 2.2 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine between January 2021 and March 2024.

NHM has also made notable strides in disease control and healthcare programmes. Under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), the incidence of tuberculosis dropped from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 195 in 2023, with the mortality rate decreasing from 28 to 22 during the same period. Other key initiatives include the Measles-Rubella Elimination Campaign, the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme, and the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah