Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) in Varanasi.
Objective of PMASBY
The objective of PMASBY is to fill critical gaps in public health infrastructure, especially in critical care facilities and primary care in both urban and rural areas. It is aimed at providing support for 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in 10 high focus states. Moreover, 11,024 urban health and wellness centres will be established in all the states.
Critical care services will be available in all the districts of the nation with a population of more than 5 lakh, through exclusive critical care hospital blocks, while the remaining districts will be covered through referral services.
Significance of PMASBY
People will have access to a full range of diagnostic services in the public healthcare system through a network of laboratories across the country.
Integrated public health labs will be set up in all the districts.
Aim of PMASBY
The aim of the PMASBY is to build an IT enabled disease surveillance system by developing a network of surveillance laboratories at block, district, regional and national levels, in metropolitan areas. Integrated Health Information Portal will be expanded to all states and Union territories to connect all public health labs.
PMASBY also aims for the operationalisation of 17 new public health units and the strengthening of 33 existing public health units at points of entry, for effectively detecting, investigating, preventing, and combating public health emergencies and disease outbreaks. It will also work towards building up a trained frontline health workforce to respond to any public health emergency.
The scheme also aims to increase the availability of health professionals, correct the existing geographical imbalance in the distribution of medical colleges and effectively utilise the existing infrastructure of district hospitals.