70,000 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres operationalised

New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI):
India has marked a key milestone in universalising primary health care with the target of operationalising 70,000 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) by March 31 being realised ahead of time, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.
Till date, about 41.35 crore people have accessed care in these AB-HWCs and about 54 per cent of them are women, the ministry said.
The feat of scaling up primary health care facilities at this pace despite the COVID-19 pandemic was enabled by a high degree of coordination between the Centre and states and union territories, foresight in planning, flexibility in adaptation, standardization of processes, and regular interactions at all levels for monitoring and prompt redressal of issues, it said.
This is testimony to the process of effective decentralisation and cooperative federalism, the ministry said.
The launch of Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) in April 2018 marked a watershed moment in India’s public health history, the ministry said in its statement. By December 2022, as many as 1,50,000 sub-health centres and primary health centres in urban and rural areas were targeted to be transformed to AB-HWCs and deliver comprehensive primary health care that includes preventive and health promotion at the community level with continuum of care which is free and close to community in rural and urban areas.
“This mission mode approach also aimed at realising India’s vision of universal health coverage,” the statement said.