The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched on 12th April 2005, to provide accessible, affordable and accountable quality health services to the poorest households in the remotest rural regions. The detailed Framework for Implementation that facilitated a large range of interventions under NRHM was approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2006 (just over three years ago). Under the NRHM, 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 delivery system with inter sectoral 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 was shifting the focus to a functional health system at all levels, from the village to the district…….. (more)

The journey of NRHM is a unique. Health is a State subject. The NRHM respects the leadership and decision making role of State Governments. It has been crafted in such an innovative way that States are happy to take ownership of the Mission. Today every State is trying its best to come up with the finest innovation that makes quality health care accessible, affordable and accountable. Most States have reported improvement in number of outpatient cases, institutional deliveries, full

immunization, availability of diagnostic services, family welfare services, disease control programmes etc. NRHM has unleashed a positive energy at every level of the public system. Poor people in remote areas have voted with their feet for the public system. The availability of the doctor, the drugs and diagnostics has remarkably transformed the utilization of services from public systems. Indeed NRHM is making a difference everywhere……..(more)