Opinion Mansukh L Mandaviya writes | Ayushman Bhav: May all be free of illness

But it is not just about devising a new healthcare programme — the goal is to make sure everyone benefits. That is where the new campaign Ayushman Bhav, launched by President Droupadi Murmu on September 13, comes in. It focuses on comprehensive coverage, developing awareness about PM-JAY, creating health account IDs, and providing health services including disease screenings and management of multiple illnesses such as tuberculosis, hypertension, sickle cell disease and diabetes in villages as well as urban wards.

Ayushman Bhav’s primary mission is to reach over 6.45 lakh villages and 2.55 lakh gram panchayats. It is designed in line with the antyodaya principle to make sure that no one is left behind in the quest for universal health coverage. To facilitate this, the campaign will have activities such as sewa pakhwada, which would include organ donation drives, cleanliness drives (swachhata abhiyan) and blood donation initiatives.

Strengthening the groundwork for delivery of healthcare services, this campaign broadens Ayushman Bharat’s reach using three core pillars: Ayushman Apke Dwar 3.0, Ayushman Sabha, and Ayushman Mela. These pillars enhance service delivery by focusing on comprehensive coverage, collaborative awareness-building and community-centred efforts. Ayushman Apke Dwar 3.0 will build on the success of its earlier versions (1.0 and 2.0) by expanding Ayushman card distribution with enhanced utilisation of Ayushman Bharat services, ensuring widespread coverage.

Ayushman Sabhas will promote awareness of various healthcare schemes and services available in the country and will be spearheaded by the village health, sanitation and nutrition committees (VHSNCs). To advance the Ayushman Bhav initiative, Ayushman Melas will serve as an efficient platform to tackle a broad spectrum of health concerns, efficiently reaching a large audience and boosting healthcare service utilisation.

The Ayushman-Apke Dwar initiative will commence with an extensive country-wide drive on September 17 and run until December 31, ensuring the provision of Ayushman cards to around 60 crore beneficiaries under the PM-JAY scheme. Through Ayushman Apke Dwar, every eligible family in the country will be registered for Ayushman cards. The primary objective of this pillar is to ensure that every eligible beneficiary receives their Ayushman card, leaving no one without access to affordable healthcare services.

Ayushman Sabhas will convene on October 2 with a subsequent round taking place before December 31 spanning villages and urban wards. Ayushman Sabhas will serve as a platform for citizens to gain knowledge about communicable and non-communicable diseases and voice their concerns about healthcare services, promoting social accountability of healthcare systems and exemplifying the principle of “jan bhagidari se jan kalyan”. These gatherings will include activities like distributing PM-JAY cards, showcasing empanelled hospitals, creating Ayushman Bharat Health Account IDs, screening services, and organising talks to raise awareness about various diseases with participation from MPs/MLAs, PM-JAY beneficiaries, Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres beneficiaries, and tuberculosis champions and more to motivate the community.

Ayushman Melas will be held every week at 1.6 lakh HWCs in villages. They will also take place at community health centres, organised by medical colleges at the block level. This will be pivotal to spreading awareness of healthcare services among vulnerable and impoverished populations. These melas, offering specialised services such as ENT, eye, and psychiatric care at the block level aim to enhance access to specialised care, build trust between the community and the health system, improve health-seeking behaviour and literacy, foster greater engagement with medical colleges and extend healthcare services to every ailing individual in need.

The anticipated outcome is the transformation of every village and urban ward into an Ayushman Gram Panchayat or Ayushman Urban Ward, advancing holistic and sustainable development at the grass roots level. The mission is to certify villages that achieve 100 per cent coverage of selected schemes under each pillar, including the distribution of Ayushman cards, generation of Ayushman Bharat Health Account IDs, population-based screening and testing and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

In the context of optimum healthcare delivery vision, the unwavering pursuit of comprehensive healthcare coverage is not just a goal. It’s a commitment in the service of humanity by Pradhan Sevak Narendra Modi in line with ancient wisdom found in this verse from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: Sarve bhavantu sukhinah/Sarve santu niramayah/Sarve bhadrani pashyantu/Ma kashcid duhkha bhagbhavet (May all be happy, may all be free from illness. May all see what is auspicious, may no one suffer in any way.) Ayushman Bhav is the embodiment of the same commitment to delivering healthcare. It fosters the prospects of robust health for every citizen and the nation as a whole.

The writer is Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilisers