Union Minister J P Nadda Lauds Odisha For Sharp Decline In MMR & IMR

Puri: Lauding the work done through the National Health Mission (NHM), Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday said it has significantly contributed to improving India’s public health outcomes through various efforts.

While inaugurating the 9th national summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovation in Public Healthcare System in India being held in Odisha’s Puri, Nadda said NHM has played a significant role in addressing critical health issues, and fostering an integrated response to health emergencies across the country.

The Health Minister also praised Odisha for its impressive progress in key health indicators. “There was a time when we used to hear a lot of things about Odisha that it lacked on several aspects. But the scenario has now changed now. The maternal and infant mortality rate in the state has now declined considerably,” Nadda said.

Noting that that there has been a rapid decline in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the country, he said the decline in India is double that the global decline.

Noting that a major change was adopted with the introduction of the new health policy in 2017, Nadda said the focus moved from curative, tertiary health care to preventive, promotive and comprehensive approach. The preventive part was much crucial along with promotive, and making all facilities comprehensive was also a challenge for all.

“From 2017, we have gone for a balanced approach where we are taking care of primary, secondary, tertiary and also going for comprehensive health care. If the goals and targets are correct, our journey becomes easier. Quality healthcare and accessible healthcare are important things that we need to give focus on. When we talk about India, we talk about 1.4 billion population and till we strengthen our basis and connect with quality health, the load till we reach the pyramid will increase. The process under the National Health Mission has been impressive,” said Nadda.

The Union Health Ministry has launched a nationwide campaign to screen individuals aged 30 and above for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and common cancers like oral, breast, and cervical cancer.

The Union Minister said that focus is now being given on early detection and screening through over 1 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs across the country. At these centres, universal screening of diabetes, hypertension, oral cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer is being done.

Stating that lifestyle and eating habits are also contributing to the rise in cancer cases, Nadda said  due to the Ayushman Bharat coverage, 90 per cent of people getting diagnosed with cancer are getting treatment within 30 days of being detected.

The inaugural session was also attended by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling, state Health Commissioner-cum-Secretary Aswathy S, Puri Lok Sabha MP Sambit Patra, National Health Mission (NHM) Managing Director Aradhana Patnaik and NHM Joint Secretary Saurabh Jain.