Addressing the health needs of urban poor, The National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) is likely to begin in Jharkhand by September. The project is on the lines of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and will function through Primary Health Care (PHC) centre and Community Health Centre (CHC).
14 districts including Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Deoghar, Seraikela-Kharswan, East Singhbhum, Sahibgunj, Palamau, Dumka, Giridih and Koderma are selected in the first phase.
“PHC will provide OPD services like free checkups and medicines while specialised services like child delivery. Overall 51 PHCs and six CHCs are to be set up in the State. Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Mahila Arogya Samiti members and Doctors will be deployed at each PHC and CHC. We are hopeful to begin the PHCs by September,” said an NGO member assisting NUHM Nodal Officer Dr Manju Kumari in the State, who could not be contacted for further comments.
“Recruitment of Doctors is yet to be done. Each PHC will have a full-time Doctor as well as a part-time Doctor,” the NGO member added.
Jharkhand is said to have received a budget of about Rs 9 crores from Central Ggovernment in financial year 2013-14 for initiating the process.
Highlighting the relevance of the programme, website of National Health Mission (NHM) mentions Centre-State funding pattern will be 75:25 for all the States except North-Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir.
NUHM would cover all the State capitals, district headquarters and cities with a population than 50000. “It would basically focus on slum dwellers and marginalised groups. PHC is for a population of 50,000 and CHC is for population of 2.5 lakh,” the NGO member pointed out.
Officials at Jharkhand Rural Health Mission Society (JRHMS) confirmed the full-fledged starting of the urban mission within few months.
“The sanitary pad distribution shortage in some of the Anganwadi centers within cities of Ranchi, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad and Giridih districts listed under Government of India’s ongoing Menstrual Health and Hygiene Programme shall be solved with NUHM establishment. No such complaints have been received in villages of these districts since NRHM is looking over the management,” Health Services Deputy Director cum Nodal Officer for Adolescent Health in the State Dr Jaya Prasad said.
JRHMS had sent the proposed project report to the central government in 2013 for availing NUHM facilities in districts of the first phase.
NUHM as a sub-mission National Health Mission was approved by the Union Government on May 1, 2013.