Union Cabinet Approves Five-Year Extension of National Health Mission

The Union Cabinet approved a five-year extension of the National Health Mission (NHM) on Wednesday after reviewing its progress over the past three years. 

Originally launched in 2005 as the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the initiative has seen multiple extensions, with the most recent one in 2021, extending its duration until 2026. 

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, during a cabinet briefing, emphasized the NHM's significant contributions to public health in India. “The mission’s efforts have been integral to India's health improvements, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has played a vital role in ensuring more accessible and quality healthcare services across the country,” a cabinet statement stated.

Goyal further highlighted that NHM’s ongoing initiatives have reshaped India’s health landscape, putting the nation on course to achieve its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) health targets ahead of the 2030 deadline.

Key Achievements and Progress 

Since its latest extension in 2021, NHM has driven significant progress in maternal and child health, disease control, and healthcare infrastructure development. 

The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) saw a 25 percent decline, dropping from 130 per 100,000 live births in 2014-16 to 97 per 100,000 in 2018-20. Similarly, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) fell from 39 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to approximately 28 in 2020. 

“These improvements indicate that India is on track to meet its SDG targets for maternal, child, and infant mortality well ahead of 2030,” the statement added. 

Between FY22 and FY24, NHM also onboarded over 1.2 million additional healthcare workers, including general duty medical officers (GDMOs), specialists, staff nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), Ayush doctors, allied healthcare professionals, and public health managers. 

Furthermore, NHM was instrumental in the administration of over 2.2 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses from January 2021 to March 2024. 

Disease Control and Health Programs

NHM has made remarkable strides in disease control and health surveillance, particularly in combating non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like tuberculosis (TB).

“Under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), the incidence of tuberculosis has reduced 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,” Goyal noted.

The mission has also overseen the expansion of several key healthcare programs, such as the Measles-Rubella Elimination Campaign, the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme, and the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.