Urban Health Mission

Urban Health Mission - City Health Blueprint

• Launch: 2013
• Ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW)
• Rationale: Addresses urban health challenges:
  • Overcrowding & high population density
  • Poor environmental sanitation, unsafe drinking water
  • Growth of slums & informal settlements
  • Vulnerable populations: slum dwellers, homeless, street children, rag-pickers, construction workers.
• Key Aims & Objectives (NUHM):
  • Need-based, city-specific urban healthcare system.
  • Equitable access to quality primary healthcare for urban poor & vulnerable.
  • Strengthen existing health facilities & establish new ones (Urban PHCs, Urban CHCs).
  • Partnerships with NGOs & private sector.
  • Focus on maternal & child health, communicable & non-communicable diseases.

⭐ NUHM was launched in 2013 as a sub-mission of the National Health Mission (NHM), alongside the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Urban Health Mission - Pillars & People

• Target Population: Focus on the urban poor & most vulnerable groups:

  • Residents of listed and unlisted slums.
  • Homeless individuals, pavement dwellers.
  • Vulnerable occupations: rag-pickers, street children, rickshaw pullers, construction/casual daily wage laborers.

• Key Strategies & Pillars:

  • Strengthening public health systems: Upgrading facilities, ensuring human resources.
  • Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): For service delivery, diagnostics, etc.
  • Community Participation & Linkages:
    • Mahila Arogya Samiti (MAS): At community level (50-100 households), promotes health-seeking behaviors, supports ASHA.
    • Urban ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist): Link between community and UPHC; provides basic MCH services, counseling.

• Service Delivery Infrastructure:

  • Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC):
    • Population norm: 50,000-60,000. (📌 U-PHC for 50-60k folks)
    • Services: OPD, basic lab, MCH, family planning, immunization, NCD screening.
  • Urban Community Health Centre (UCHC):
    • Population norm: 250,000 (or 4-5 UPHCs).
    • Acts as First Referral Unit (FRU); provides specialist consultations, inpatient care, and referral to higher facilities.

⭐ Exam Favourite: One Urban ASHA is provisioned for every 1,000-2,500 urban population or 200-500 households.

Urban Health Mission - Steering & Stumbling

Governance Structure:

• Funding Mechanisms:

  • Centre-State Share: General states 75:25; NE/Special category states 90:10.

• Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E):

  • Regular reviews, field visits, HMIS data, and community monitoring.

• Key Achievements:

  • ↑ Access to primary healthcare in urban areas.
  • Strengthened infrastructure & human resources in some areas.
  • Outreach services and referral linkages improved.

• Persistent Challenges:

  • Inter-sectoral coordination gaps.
  • Human resource: Shortages, maldistribution, and attrition.
  • Data management: Quality and utilization issues.
  • Reaching all vulnerable groups (e.g., homeless, migrants).
  • Ensuring quality of care and service delivery.

⭐ Mahila Arogya Samiti (MAS) acts as a community-level health action group for 50-100 households, facilitating health awareness and access to services in urban slums.

High‑Yield Points - ⚡ Biggest Takeaways

• NUHM launched in 2013 as a sub-mission of NHM.
• Targets urban poor, particularly in slums and other vulnerable sections.
• Covers cities and towns with population over 50,000.
• Establishes U-PHCs per 50,000-60,000 population and U-CHCs per 2.5 lakh.
• One Urban ASHA per 1,000-2,500 population or 200-500 households.
• Mahila Arogya Samitis (MAS) for community involvement at slum level.
• Funding primarily through Centre-State partnership (e.g., 60:40 ratio).