Blitz Bureau
WORLD Health Day, celebrated every year on April 7, highlights pressing health issues and mobilises action to improve public health outcomes. Launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1950, it unites governments, institutions, and communities in addressing critical health priorities each year.
The 2025-theme ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures’ kicked off a year-long campaign focused on maternal and newborn health, urging countries to end preventable deaths and prioritise women’s long-term wellbeing. Aligning with this vision, the Government of India, through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, continues to strengthen its commitment to equitable, accessible, and quality healthcare.
Over the past decade, India’s health sector has made notable strides through initiatives like Ayushman Bharat and the National Health Mission, which have improved maternal and child health, expanded digital health access, and enhanced infrastructure and services. The following facts showcase key national health initiatives driving India’s progress toward universal health coverage and health equity for all.
Maternal health
Maternal mortality: MMR (Maternal Mortality Ratio) in India dropped from 130 (2014-16) to 97 (2018-20) per 100,000 live births – a decline of 33 points. Over the last 30 years (1990–2020), MMR declined by 83 per cent in the country. Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR): Conducted at facility and community levels to identify causes of maternal deaths and implement corrective actions for improving obstetric care.
Mother and Child Protection (MCP) Card & Safe Motherhood Booklet: Distributed to educate pregnant women on nutrition, rest, pregnancy danger signs, Government schemes, and benefits of institutional deliveries. Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal: A name-based digital platform to track pregnant women and newborns, ensuring timely antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care.
Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB): Part of POSHAN Abhiyan; focuses on testing, treatment, and prevention of anaemia in adolescents and pregnant women through nutrition, awareness, and addressing non-nutritional causes. Birth Waiting Homes (BWH): Set up in remote and tribal areas to improve access and promote institutional deliveries.
Village Health, Sanitation & Nutrition Day (VHSND): Monthly outreach at Anganwadi centres for maternal and child care services. Outreach Camps: Organised in tribal and difficult areas to deliver maternal healthcare, raise awareness, mobilize communities, and monitor high-risk pregnancies.
As of April 5, 2025, there are over 1.76 lakh active Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (health & wellness centres) in India, providing comprehensive primary health care. Over 100 crore screenings for hypertension and 94.56 crore screenings for diabetes have been conducted at these centres. Wellness-related activities, such as yoga, cycling, and meditation, are conducted there. As of November 30, 2024, there are 17,000+ Government health facilities certified under the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS), a framework by the Ministry to ensure continuous quality improvement and patient-centric care in public health facilities.
Digital ecosystem
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is a unified digital health ecosystem to securely connect patients, healthcare providers, and systems through an interoperable digital infrastructure. There are over 5.95 lakh verified healthcare professionals registered under the ABDM Scheme, with over3.86 lakh verified health facilities. Under ABDM, more than 52 crore health records are linked.
U-WIN is a digital platform that streamlines and tracks immunization for pregnant women and children (0–16 years), enabling flexible, anytime-anywhere vaccine access under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). e-Sanjeevani, India’s national telemedicine service, bridges gaps in healthcare access by providing free, equitable, and remote medical consultations. 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 on boarded to date.
