India is set to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on 17th of September by organising a slew of wellness drives and healthcare programmes under the initiative called “Seva Pakhwada” (a fortnight of service). The initiative coincides with the 73rd birth anniversary of PM Narendra Modi and will continue till Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October.
The program will be launched under the ‘Ayushman Bhava’ campaign of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), which is scheduled to be launched by President Droupadi Murmu on September 13.
‘Ayushman Bhava’ is an umbrella campaign comprising three major components — Ayushman Apke Dwar 3.0, Ayushman Mela, and Ayushman Sabha — to be launched during the 15-day period, starting September 17.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “This year on the occasion of PM Modi’s birthday we will take up the ‘Ayushman Bhava’ program to ensure optimum delivery of all state-run health schemes to every intended beneficiary, including those in the last mile.”
He further said that during this program, camps will be set up and 60,000 people will be given Ayushman Bharat cards. “The camps will be set up, for 60,000 people we will give Ayushman Bharat cards. In the coming days we will run this program more frequently for better saturation of healthcare services and programmes,” he added.
According to the Union Health Ministry, all the above activities will start from September 17. Besides, Swachhta Abhiyaan, Organ Donation, and Blood Donation campaigns will also be held during the proposed Sewa Pakhwada.”
In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Union Health Minister said that during the campaign over 15 days, several welfare initiatives, including ‘Ayushman Mela’, and ‘Ayushman Sabha’ with Jan Bhagidari (public participation) will be undertaken by the Union Health Ministry across the country under ‘Ayushman Bhava’ for people belonging to economically weaker sections.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known not only in the country but across the world for his service to humanity. He provided free food grains to 80 crore people, and guaranteed free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh to 60 crore people under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. As Modi-ji celebrates his birthday on September 17, we launch and run the ‘Ayushman Bhavah’ campaign,” Mandaviya told ANI.
The Union Health Minister said that during the programs, which will continue till October 2, general awareness about health will be spread and the programs being run by the central government in this direction will be implemented in mission mode.
He informed further that in line with the Ayushman Bhava campaign, an Ayushman Mela will be organised in over 1,17,000 Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) across the country “where all the poor, and middle-class people will be diagnosed and treated”. Mandaviya further said that all block-level hospitals and medical colleges will organise health camps on their premises.
“If any patient needs tertiary care, he will be taken to the respective medical college and provided treatment,” he said, adding that over the fortnight, ‘Swacchta Abhiyaan’ (cleanliness drive) will be also run at healthcare institutions across the country including hospitals and dispensaries, among others.
The Union Health Minister said apart from ‘Ayushman Mela’, the ‘Ayushman Bhava’ campaign has two other pillars — ‘Ayushman Card’ and ‘Ayushman Sabha’.
He said that along with conducting a ‘Gaon Sabha’ in all rural areas, the campaign will eventually ensure Gram/Nagar Panchayat attain the status of ‘Ayushman Gram Panchayat’ or ‘Ayushman Urban Ward’ with saturation of selected health indicators.
The village that has Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries is ‘Mukt’ (free) from TB and Leprosy, and has a 100 per cent Covid-19 vaccination record, will be declared ‘Ayushman Gram’, the minister said.
Mandaviya said, “Efforts will be made to ensure that Ayushman Bharat cards reach every beneficiary through digital platforms.”
He stressed that the entire campaign is based on ‘Jan Bhagidari’ or public participation. “The whole mission is about Jan Bhagidari, as the youths will participate in blood donation for a fortnight,” he said, adding that efforts will also be undertaken to bring more and more people into the organ donation fold.
Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is the world’s largest health protection scheme which provides health coverage of Rs 5 lakh per beneficiary family per annum.
Mandaviya further said that last year we witnessed that on the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we emphasised the issue of Tuberculosis (TB).
“Earlier PM Modi said that the world’s goal to eliminate Tuberculosis (TB) is 2030 but India’s target is to eliminate TB by 2025 end. Last year around 70,000 people became Ni-kshay Mitra and adopted TB patients which has now increased to one lakh. It is in the form of NGOs, individual people, political parties and corporate sector,” he added.
“Every month nutrient kit is given and every possible support is extended to those patients. We are confident that with the help of ‘Lok Bhagidari’ TB will be eliminated from the country”, he added.
Earlier in 2022, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ran a year-long program to make the country Tuberculosis (TB) free, under which everyone will adopt a TB patient and will take care of him for one year. The plan to adopt one tuberculosis patient for one year has been organised to accomplish PM Modi’s vision of a TB-free India by 2025.
PM Modi was born on September 17, 1950, in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, a small and nondescript town in the Mehsana district of North Gujarat.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
