New Delhi: Announced during the UPA regime, the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) — a health scheme for urban poor is all set to kick start this month. The new health scheme aims to benefit urban poor of seven metros and 772 cities with a population of more than 50,000.
Approved by the Union Cabinet in 2013, for providing equitable and quality primary health care services to the urban population, Rs 662.23 crore was given to 29 states on the basis of appraisal of the programme implementation plan. However, according to officials nothing much has been achieved on the scheme so far. The new government has planned to introduce the welfare scheme for a period of five years for which it will shell out Rs 17,000 crores.
The NUHM has been designed on the lines of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). It aims at providing providing affordable healthcare facilities, to about 28 crore poor urban population. The programme had also planned to provide an insurance cover of Rs 40,000-50,000 for basic medical care and outpatient facilities.
