ndia Makes Substantial Strides In Improving Public Health

The government said on Sunday that there are already more than 1.76 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs operating in India (as of April 5), offering complete basic healthcare. It further stated that more than 76 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) have been established thus far. In advance of Monday’s “World Health Day 2025,” the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that the National Health Mission (NHM) has been instrumental in the significant progress it has achieved in enhancing India’s public health outcomes through a number of important projects and programs.

With over 3.86 lakh verified health facilities and over 5.95 lakh verified healthcare professionals registered under the ABDM scheme, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is a unified digital health ecosystem that securely connects patients, healthcare providers, and systems through an interoperable digital infrastructure. U-WIN is a digital platform that tracks and streamlines immunisation for pregnant women and children (0–16 years), enabling flexible, anytime-anywhere vaccine access under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). India’s National Telemedicine Service, eSanjeevani, fills gaps in healthcare access by offering free, equitable, and remote medical consultations, making it the largest primary care telemedicine platform in the world.

“As of 15th December 2024, 7.90 crore beneficiaries have been registered, 1.32 crore vaccination sessions have been held, and 29.22 crore administered vaccine doses have been recorded on U-WIN. As of April 6, 2025, e-Sanjeevani has served over 36 crore patients through teleconsultations since its launch in 2020, making healthcare accessible remotely with 232,291 providers onboarded to date,” according to the ministry.

Moreover, MMR (Maternal Mortality Ratio) in India declined from 130 (2014-16) to 97 (2018-20) per 1,00,000 live births — a fall of 33 points. Over the previous 30 years (1990–2020), MMR decreased by 83 per cent in India whereas global MMR reduced by 42 per cent in the same era. IMR (Infant Mortality Rate) has fallen from 39 (2014) to 28 (2020) per 1,000 live births. Neonatal mortality rate, or NMR, decreased from 26 per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 20 per 1,000 in 2020. According to the ministry, the U5MR (Under-5 Mortality Rate) has decreased from 45 in 2014 to 32 in 2020 per 1,000 live births.