During her interim budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government’s initiative to encourage vaccination for girls aged 9 to 14 years to prevent cervical cancer. She highlighted the government’s commitment to improving healthcare services by setting up more medical colleges and serving the people.
“Several youth aspire to become doctors to serve our people through improved healthcare services. Our government plans to establish more medical colleges by utilizing existing hospital infrastructure under various departments. A committee will be set up to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations,” Sitharaman stated.
She also mentioned the extension of health coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to all ASHA and Anganwadi workers and helpers. Sitharaman emphasized the consolidation of various schemes for maternal and child care into one comprehensive program for effective implementation.
“Upgradation of Anganwadi centers under ‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0’ will be expedited for improved nutrition delivery, early childhood care, and development,” she added. Additionally, the Finance Minister announced the swift rollout of the newly designed U-WIN platform for managing immunization and intensified efforts of Mission Indradhanush throughout the country.
The ‘Ayushman Bhav’ initiative aims to saturate healthcare services in every village or town, ensuring accessibility to healthcare for everyone in society. The initiative includes interventions such as ‘Ayushman – Apke Dwar 3.0’, ‘Ayushman Sabhas’, ‘Ayushman Melas at Health and Wellness Level and Medical Camps by Medical Colleges at CHCs,’ with the goal of achieving the status of ‘Ayushman Panchayat’ or ‘Ayushman Urban Ward’ in saturation mode for Gram/Nagar Panchayats or Urban Wards.