Andhra Pradesh

Centre plans Urban Health Mission

GUDUR (NELLORE): After the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the Centre is now planning to launch the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) to improve the availability and access to quality health care, especially to the poor, women and children residing in urban areas.

Announcing this at a meeting organised as part of the Public Information Campaign on Bharat Nirman here on Tuesday, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhary said that the Centre had plans to launch the NUHM in coming days.

And the move was aimed at addressing hitherto largely ignored health needs of the urban poor and particularly to check preventable maternal and child deaths that had been taking place every year in slum areas due to lack of basic health facilities, she said.

The Union Minister said that the Centre was planning to rope in around 4.5 lakh trained health activists to serve those living in slums besides working at construction sites and other related activities, who had limited or no access to health services.

As a whole, the new mission would provide effective health care to urban population across the country with the special focus to reduce Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio.

Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in the five-day PIB’s Bharat Nirman Programme, which began here on Tuesday at Allur Adisesha Reddy Government stadium.

As part of the campaign, special health camps as well as HIV/AIDS awareness camps were conducted at the venue.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi, Information and Public Relations Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, Rural Water Supply Minister Pinnamaneni Venkateswara Rao, Legislators and other elected representatives besides senior officials participated in the programme.

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