Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What are Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs)?
• News Summary: Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres
• Key highlights: Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres

Why in news?

• India’s Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) programme is undergoing its biggest ever expansion of services.

What are Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs)?

• Background
  • Ayushman Bharat (AB) was launched to deliver comprehensive range of services spanning preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care.
  • It has two components which are complementary to each other.
    • Under its first component, 1,50,000 Health & Wellness Centres (HWCs) is created.
    • The second component is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
      • It provides health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per year to over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families for seeking secondary and tertiary care.
• About AB-HWCs
  • Started in 2018, AB-HWCs aims to deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care, that is universal and free to users.
  • It focuses on wellness and the delivery of an expanded range of services closer to the community.
  • These centres deliver a range of comprehensive health care services like maternal and child health, services to address communicable and non-communicable diseases and services for elderly and palliative care.
  • AB-HWCs provide free essential medicines and diagnostic services, teleconsultation, and health promotion including wellness activities like Yoga.
• Target
  • 1,50,000 Sub Health Centres (SHC), Primary Health Centres (PHC) and Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHC) to be transformed as Health Wellness Centres by 2022.
    • As of 8 July 2023, there are 1,60,074 functional HWCs in India.
    • As on June 30, 2023, more than 2.16 crores wellness sessions have been conducted with participation of 23.83 crores individuals
• Key Components
  • The delivery of comprehensive primary health care through HWCs involve is complex task as it requires a paradigm shift at all levels of health systems.

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Image caption: Key components of HWCs

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News Summary: Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres

• As per the officials in the health ministry, AB-HWCs programme is undergoing its biggest ever expansion of services.

Key highlights: Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres

• Addition of services
  • Under the latest expansion spree, the Central government is adding services, including:
    • screening, prevention, control & management of non-communicable diseases,
    • care for common ophthalmic & ENT problems,
    • basic oral health care,
    • elderly and palliative health care services,
    • emergency medical services, and
    • screening and management of mental health ailments.
• The essential list of medicines and diagnostics has been expanded
  • The essential list of medicines and diagnostics has been expanded to make available 171 medicines at Primary HWCs and 105 at Secondary Health Care-HWC and 63 diagnostics at PHC-HWC and 14 at SHC-HWC.
• New cadre of Community Health Officers
  • A new cadre of Community Health Officers, 1.29 lakh in position, has been introduced at the level of SHC-HWC.
  • They will act as clinicians as well as public health managers. They will lead the team of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Anganwadi Workers (AWW) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwifes (ANM).

Q1) What are the roles of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA)?

ASHAs are community health workers in India who bridge the gap between healthcare and rural populations. Their roles include health education, counseling, maternal and child health support, immunization promotion, family planning guidance, referrals, health surveillance, and providing social support.

Q2) Who are Anganwadi Workers (AWW)?

Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) are grassroots-level female workers who play a vital role in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program in India. The ICDS is a government initiative that focuses on maternal and child health, early childhood care and education, and nutrition. AWWs are appointed by the government and are typically local women from the same community where they serve.

Source: Centre adding more services to Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres | National Health Portal | Vikaspedia