National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

- The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched on 12th April, 2005, to provide accessible, affordable and accountable quality health services even to the poorest households in the remotest rural regions.
- The difficult areas with unsatisfactory health indicators were classified as special focus States to ensure greatest attention where needed.
- The thrust of the Mission was on establishing a fully functional, community owned, decentralized health deli very system with intersectoral convergence at all levels, to ensure simultaneous action on a wide range of determinants of health like
water, sanitation, education, nutrition social and gender equality.
- Institutional integration within the fragmented health sector was expected to provide a focus on outcomes, measured against Indian Public Health Standards for all health facilities.
- From narrowly defined schemes, the NRHM shifted focus to a functional health system at all levels, from the village to the district.
- NRHM is being operationalized throughout the country with special focus on 18 states which includes 8 Empowered Action Group States (Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakband, Odisha and Rajasthan), 8 NE states, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir.
- Among major innovations of the NRHM are creation of a cadre of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and improved hospital care. decentralisation at district level to improve intra and intersectoral convergence and effective utilisation of resources through NGOs and community in general.
- Among major innovations of the NRHM are creation of a cadre of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and improved hospital care. decentralisation at district level to improve intra and intersectoral convergence and effective utilisation of resources through NGOs and community in general. village in the ratio one per 1000 population.