Ayushman Bharat mission filled critical healthcare gaps during Covid: MoS Health

New Delhi: The Ayushman Bharat mission filled critical healthcare gaps during Covid, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel told the Parliament on Friday.

Patel told the Lok Sabha, in a written reply, that the Centre undertook several initiatives during the Covid-19 pandemic "to ensure effective management and availability of sufficient health care infrastructure to meet the increased demand during the pandemic".

She also enlisted key schemes launched and implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare during the deadly pandemic.

"Pradhan Mantri- Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) was launched on October 25, 2021, with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore to be implemented over five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26, to fill critical gaps in health infrastructure, surveillance and health research - spanning both the urban and rural areas," she said.

It was also aimed at strengthening "the public health infrastructure and to effectively manage and respond towards any future pandemics and outbreaks", she added.

The scheme focussed on developing capacities of health systems and institutions across the continuum of care at all levels -- primary, secondary and tertiary -- and on preparing health systems to respond effectively to current and future pandemics/disasters. PM-ABHIM was a centrally sponsored scheme (CSS), and it also provided support to states/UTs for the "construction of Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM) in rural and urban areas, establishment/strengthening of block public health units, integrated district public health labs in all districts and critical care hospital blocks".

It also extended support on "enhancing capacities for surveillance and health emergency response, research, pandemic preparedness and One Health approach to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks in animals and humans", the Minister said.

Another scheme was the India Covid-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package (ECRP-I). Patel noted it was approved "by the Cabinet on April 22, 2020, for Rs 15,000 crore to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by Covid-19. Further, an amount of Rs. 8473.73 crore has also been released to states & UTs".

The central sector scheme "aimed at building a resilient health system to support preparedness and prevention functions for the management of the Covid-19 pandemic and any such future outbreaks in India".

The Centre in July 2021 extended the scheme, ECRP Phase-II, to provide support to Central hospitals, agencies and states/UTs, Patel noted, adding that it "was approved with the financial outlay of Rs 23,123 crore".