Gist Of Kurukshetra | February 2022 Issue: Health | Chapter 5: Rural Healthcare Infrastructure For UPSC IAS Current Affairs Preparation

Table of Contents

Introduction

The state of healthcare infrastructure differs between urban areas and rural areas.
With more than 70 percent of India’s population living in rural areas, the importance of rural healthcare facilities cannot be emphasized enough.

Gist of Kurukshetra Magazine For UPSC IAS Current Affairs Preparation

Healthcare facilities in rural areas under the National Rural Health Mission (as part of the National Health Mission) have been developed as a three-tier system —
- Sub-Centres,
- Primary Health Centres (PHC) and
- Community Health Centres (CHC).
As part of Ayushman Bharat, the government is supporting the States for the transformation of Sub Health Centres and Primary Health Centres into 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres across the country by December 2022 for the provision of Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) that includes preventive healthcare and health promotion at the community level with a continuum of care approach.
Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) envisages increased investments in public health and other health reforms to provide better access to health in rural areas by:
- Strengthening of Health and Wellness Centres.
- Addition of new critical care-related beds at district-level hospitals.
- Integrating district public health laboratories in all districts.
- Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) and Tele-consultation services to improve access to healthcare, particularly in rural areas.

Gist of Kurukshetra Magazine For UPSC IAS Current Affairs Preparation

Despite the continuing shortfall of medical staff in rural areas, the number of healthcare workers posted in rural areas has witnessed some improvement in recent years.
- Financial support is provided to States for providing hard area allowance, performance-based incentives, providing accommodation and transport facilities in rural and remote areas including tribal areas.
One of the key components of the National Rural Health Mission is to provide every village in the country with a trained female community health activist — ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist).
- The ASHA worker acts as the interface between the community and the public health system in rural India and is empowered with knowledge and a drug kit to deliver first-contact healthcare.
- The total number of ASHAs under the National Health Mission (NHM) stands at 10.7 lakh.