Launched in 2005, the Rural Health Scheme strives to offer both affordable and quality healthcare to those residing in rural India. In addition to this, the scheme was implemented to create strong systems of monitoring and evaluation, improve the delivery of healthcare services, and boost community-led healthcare services. The NRHM scheme operates on the foundation of four main principles – decentralisation, deployment of human resources, data collection, and public-private partnerships.
The objectives of the National Rural Health Mission are:
To implement strong strategies for monitoring and evaluation
To improve the quality of health service delivery at all levels
To make quality health care affordable and accessible to the rural population
To combine facility-based care with community-led health initiatives
To achieve a functional quality-assured framework for health services
To create a robust and resilient net of health services for the rural and at-risk groups to fall back on
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Here’s a look at the features and highlights of the National Rural Health Mission:
Augment the functionality and accountability of the public health delivery system for the community
Efficient management of human resources
Increase the involvement of the community
Decentralisation of the NRHM scheme’s specialised healthcare services
Close monitoring and evaluation of services provided against carefully set standards
Intersectional convergence of health and related programmes from village level upwards
Creative development and implementation of healthcare services
Financing the existing and newly implemented programmes
Interventions at regular intervals to improve the existing health indicators
Based on the above features and objectives, the benefits of the National Rural Health Mission in India are:
Access to affordable and quality medical facilities as well as services
Reduced maternal and new-born mortality among the rural population
Increased awareness about instant treatment in the rural population
450+ districts with Mobile Medical Unit that covers medical emergencies
Accessible treatment for transmissible diseases and chronic diseases
Better understanding of the adverse effects of harmful effects such as tobacco and smoking
Free healthcare for postnatal and prenatal care
Reduces the number of people who smoke or chew tobacco
Free ambulance service made available
Increased and improved equipment with funding from the government
Strengthened medical infrastructure
To avail of the benefits of the National Rural Health Mission, you must meet the eligibility requirement. Since the scheme aims to offer medical services and facilities to the underserved and rural community, you need to be a resident of the declared areas where the NRHM will operate.
The application process for availing of the benefits is fairly straightforward. Once you know that you are eligible, you can do either of these to avail the benefits of this rural health mission:
Visit the official website of NRHM and assess your options
Contact the assigned ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker at your nearest Anganwadi centre
Call the toll-free number 1800-180-1900 to resolve queries and know your complaint status
The National Rural Health Mission deploys many core strategies to achieve these objectives. Some of them are:
Quality health care is only available through health facilities owned at the central and state-level or privately in India. NRHM aims to change this equation by building capacity for managing health services at the Panchayat level.
NRHM deploys human resources like ASHAs and MPWs at critical points to close service gaps.
National Rural Health Mission adopts specially developed metrics and data collection and analysis techniques to track and improve the health indicators.
NRHM works to achieve affordable services by regulating the private sector at the practitioner level. Increasing public-private partnerships and non-profit initiatives in focused zones work to augment this.
National Rural Health Mission holds several awareness drives, sensitisation programmes, campaigns and capacity-building efforts to mobilise effort at the community level.
NRHM appoints Accredited Social Health Activists or ASHAs to integrate service delivery with community efforts. They are responsible for distributing goods and equipment to the stakeholders under NRHM.
Community-led health efforts brought about through innovative behavioural change-based interventions with solid support for non-profit initiatives.
National Rural Health Mission focuses on the key personnel and institutions and their responsibilities to improve the available healthcare services. The National Mission Steering Group guides the processes implemented by NRHM.
For example, National Rural Health Mission:
Integrates the Departments of Health and Family Welfare at state and national levels.
Appoints Rogi Kalyan Samitis for community management of public hospitals,
Assigns Village Health and Sanitation Committee for mobilising human resources.
TARGETS (2012) |
ACHIEVEMENTS (2012) |
Reduce IMR to 30/1000 births |
IMR was reduced from 58 in 2005 to 42 in 2012. |
Reduce Maternal Mortality to 100/100,000 live births |
MMR reduced from 254 in 2004-06 to 178 in 2010-12. |
Reduce TFR to 2.1 |
TFR reduced from 2.9 in 2005 (SRS) to 2.4 in 2012 (SRS). |
Reduce Malaria Mortality by 60% |
70% Malaria mortality reduction |
Reduce Kala Azar Mortality by 100% |
85% Kala-azar mortality reduction |
Increase cataract operations to 46 Lakhs per year |
In 2012, 63.49 Lakhs of cataract operations were reported yearly |
Reduce Dengue Mortality by 50% |
8% reduction in Dengue Mortality |
Reduce Leprosy Prevalence to less than 1 per 10,000 |
Rate of Leprosy Prevalence reduced from 1.34 to 0.68 per 10,000 in 2012. |
Tuberculosis Control to 70% case detection & 85% cure rate |
71% case detection and 88% cure rate for Tuberculosis in 2012. |
Reduce Filarial/Microfilariae Reduction Rate to 80% |
60% Filarial/Microfilariae Reduction |
TARGETS (2017) |
ACHIEVEMENTS |
Reduce IMR - 25/1,000 |
IMR reduced to 40 in 2013 |
Reduce MMR - 1/1,000 |
MMR reduced to 167 in 2011-13 |
Reduce TFR to 2.1 |
TFR reduced to 2.3 in 2013 |
Incidence and mortality rate of Tuberculosis to be reduced to half |
Tuberculosis incidence: 171 per lakh and mortality: 9 per lakh in 2013. |
Reduce Leprosy to <1/10,000 population |
Rate of Leprosy Prevalence reduced to 1 per 10,000 |
Reduce Malaria Incidence - <1/1,000 annually |
Annual Malaria Incidence reduced to less than 1 per 1,000 |
Eliminate Kala-azar by 2015 |
454/611 blocks reported only less than 1 case per 10,000. |
Microfilaria prevalence should be less than 1% |
Microfilariae prevalence reduced to less than 1% in 222 out of 255 districts |
The National Rural Health Mission was launched in April 2005 as part of the country’s National Health Mission.
The achievements of the National Rural Health Mission are many, with the most significant being reduced women and newborn mortality rates and the reduced prevalence of tobacco use.
Since the National Rural Health Mission is designed to cater to the needs of rural India, only those that reside in these areas may avail the benefits on offer.
While the scheme does work to improve the holistic impact of the existing healthcare infrastructure, some of its more notable benefits include lowering smoking and consumption of alcohol and reducing maternal and new-more mortality rates in rural India.