National Urban Health Mission (NUHM)

The National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as a sub-mission of National Health Mission (NHM) will meet the health needs of the urban population with a focus on urban poor, by making available to them essential primary health care services and reducing out of pocket expenses for treatment.

Aspirants can find information on the structure and other important details related to the IAS Exam, in the linked article.

National Urban Health Mission Notes:- Download PDF Here

Objectives and Components of NUHM

As a part of the overarching National Health Mission, the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) aims to ensure the following:

1. Availability of resources for addressing the health problems in urban areas, especially among the urban poor.
2. Develop a health care system based on the specific health needs of the city. This system will take care of vulnerable and poor sections of the urban population and meet the diverse medical and health needs.
3. Partnership with the community for more proactive involvement in planning, implementation and monitoring of health activities.
4. Growth in urban population is directly proportional to their health risks. These challenges need to be fixed by a mechanism involving different institutions and management systems.
5. Framework for partnership with NGOs, for profit and not for profit health service providers and other stakeholders.

NUHM would cover all cities/towns with a population of more than 50000. Towns below 50000 populations will be covered under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Components of NUHM

Population Policy

• The National Population Policy (2000) not only focused on the unmet needs of contraception but also stressed the need for integrated service delivery for basic reproductive and child health care.
• Accordingly, the long term goals set under this policy envisaged a reduction in
  • Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to replacement levels,
  • Infant Mortality Rate of less than 30/1000 live births and
  • Maternal Mortality Ratio to less than 100/100,000 live births by 2010

Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK)

• The National Population Stabilisation Fund was constituted under the National Commission on Population in July 2000.
• Subsequently, it was transferred to the Department of Health and Family Welfare in April 2002.
• It was renamed and reconstituted as Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK) under the Societies Registration Act (1860) on June 2003.

Geographical Information System (GIS) Mapping

• As part of this initiative, JSK mapped 450 districts in India through a unique amalgamation of GIS maps and Census data.
• The mapping gives a picture of each district, its subdivisions and the population of every village along with the distance to the health facility.
• The maps highlight inequities in coverage down to the village level to enable resources to be targeted where they are needed the most.

Funding Pattern of NUHM

The Funding necessary for this scheme is split between the Central government and the State government.

• The centre-state funding is split in 75:25 ratio for all the States except North-Eastern states including Sikkim and other special category states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and J&K.
• For these states, the centre-state funding will be split in 90:10 ratio.
• The Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) sent by the states are appraised and approved by the Ministry.

UPSC Questions related to NUHM

Who all are covered under the NUHM Scheme and what is the cover?

• National Urban Health Mission would cover all State capitals, district headquarters and cities/towns with a population of more than 50000.
• Slum-dwellers and other marginalized groups like rickshaw pullers, street vendors, railway and bus station coolies, homeless people, street children, construction site workers are the set of people that are primarily focused under this scheme.

What is UPHC?

• The Urban Primary Health Center is envisaged as the nodal point for the delivery of health care services under the National Urban Health Mission.
• While the basic concept remains the same, the services and services delivery mechanism of UPHCs is modified to address the unique health and livelihood challenges faced by the urban population.

What is Mahila Arogya Samiti of the NUHM?

• Mahila Arogya Samiti (MAS) is a scheme overlooked by the NUHM for the group of people belonging to the slum level of the urban population.
• The objective of MAS is to help improve the health needs and develop them further by establishing a community framework for planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of the activities that help the targeted population.
• MAS will also overlook the activities or programs related to water, health, nutrition and sanitation in the urban areas of the state.

National Urban Health Mission Notes:- Download PDF Here

Multiple Choice Question

Consider the following Statements

1. As per the report given by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the major contributing factor behind the death of children below 5 years of age in India, was malnutrition in children.
2. The National Nutrition Mission  is also called POSHAN Abhiyaan. By 2022, the objective of the National Nutrition Mission is to reduce the proportion of stunted children in the population to 25%.
3. As per Ayushman Bharat, the benefits of the scheme are portable throughout the country and a beneficiary covered by the scheme will be allowed to receive cashless benefits from any public/private hospital throughout the country.
4. In Budget 2020-21, Government of India has approved the extension of National Health Mission with an allocated budget of around Rs 34,000 crores.

Choose the correct answer from the below given options

1. None of the above given statements are false.
2. Only statements 1 and 3 are true.
3. Only statements 1 and 4 are false.
4. None of the above given statements are true.

Answer: A

Candidates can find the general pattern of the UPSC Exams by visiting the UPSC Syllabus page.

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