National Health Mission

The National Health Mission (NHM) aims for attainment of universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care services, accountable and responsive to people’s needs, with effective inter-sectoral convergent action to address the wider social determinants of health.

Under NHM, support to States/UTs is provided for five key programmatic components:

(i) Health Systems Strengthening including infrastructure, human resource, drugs & equipment, ambulances, MMUs, ASHAs etc under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and National Urban Health Mission (NUHM).

(ii) Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Services (RMNCH + A)

(iii) Communicable Disease Control Programmes

(iv) Non-Communicable Diseases Control Programme interventions upto District Hospital level

(v) Infrastructure Maintenance- to support salary of ANMs and LHVs etc.

The objectives of NHM are summarised as under:

i. Reduction in child and maternal mortality

ii. Prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including locally endemic diseases.

iii. Access to integrated comprehensive primary health care.

iv. Population stabilisation, gender and demographic balance.

v. Revitalize local health traditions & mainstream AYUSH.

vi. Universal access to public services for food and nutrition, sanitation and hygiene and universal access to public health care services with emphasis on services addressing women’s and children’s health and universal immunisation.

vii. Promotion of healthy life styles.

The NHM has been successful in accelerating the decline of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), Under 5 Mortality Rate (U5MR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Total Fertility Rate (TFR). It has also achieved many of the disease control targets.