More than 1.6 mn new PMJAY cards generated in Ayushman Bhava campaign

More than 1.6 million new Ayushman Cards have been generated in the first week of the Ayushman Bhava campaign. Calling it an unprecedented measure, Minister of State (MoS) for Health and Family Welfare S P Singh Baghel said that the campaign is a form of social service.

Inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu on September 17, the Ayushman Bhava campaign is part of the Seva Pakhwada being organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In his address, Baghel gave the performance report of the campaign that is majorly aimed at the inclusion of people who are currently out of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). He highlighted that a combined 142,000 Ayushman melas were organised in the Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and Common Health Centres (CHCs) across India during the first week of the campaign.

The MoS claimed to have registered more than 400,000 additional Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) in the last week on top of the 440 million accounts already registered since 2019.

The Ayushman melas include free screening of diseases like tuberculosis and hypertension; diagnosis and immunisation drives throughout India. “More than 6 million people have taken part in the melas till now, of which 4.8 million people were given free medicines,” the minister said. On the immunisation drive, he said that the figure for free inoculations has reached 700,000 in a week.

Baghel also announced that participation in camps for blood donation and pledges for organ donation has been more than satisfactory.

Under the Ayushman Bhava campaign, villages or wards that reach the saturation levels for generating Ayushman Cards and health services will be accorded the Ayushman gram and ward status. The campaign will go on until October 2.