Over 9.9 lakh health melas organised under Ayushman Bhav campaign since Sept 17: Govt

By statetimes_editor Last updated Dec 9, 2023

NEW DELHI: Over 9.9 lakh health melas at health and wellness centres have been organised under the Ayushman Bhav campaign since September 17 that have recorded 705.69 lakh footfall, the government told the Parliament this week.

The number of people who received free drugs is 468.81 lakh, while 372.61 lakh received free diagnostics services. The total seven types of screening done is 1377.06 lakh.

Weekly health melas are also organised by medical colleges at the community health centres (CHCs), in rotation, to ensure increased access to specialist services like Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Surgery, ENT, Eye and Psychiatric etc. at every block to ensure continuum of care, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply.

The total CHC health melas reported from September 17 to till now is 26793. As many as 110.64 lakh patients were registered and 34.59 lakh patients consulted at the special OPD.

Also, 26,675 major surgeries and 94,433 minor surgeries were held.

Besides, over 3.5 crore Ayushman cards were created during the Ayushman Bhav campaign till November 28 with maximum cards generated in Uttar Pradesh followed by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The Ayushman Bhav campaign launched by the President on September 13 is envisaged to saturate selected health care services in every village/ town in line with the commitment of the prime minister to ensure reach to the last mile and enable access to health care services to everyone in the society.

It involves a set of interventions. The ‘Ayushman – Apke Dwar 3.0’ includes achieving Ayushman card saturation at the individual level, printing and distributing Ayushman cards to field level workers for further delivery, and launching a nationwide Ayushman card delivery campaign. The campaign involves collaboration with health, Panchayati Raj, and rural development departments, seeking the support of ASHA workers, front line workers and self-help groups. (PTI)