New Delhi, July 26: The Ayushman Bharat mission filled critical healthcare gaps during Covid, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel told the Parliament on Friday. Patel told the Lok Sabha, in a written reply, that the Centre undertook several initiatives during the Covid-19 pandemic "to ensure effective management and availability of sufficient health care infrastructure to meet the increased demand during the pandemic". She also enlisted key schemes launched and implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare during the deadly pandemic.
"Pradhan Mantri- Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) was launched on October 25, 2021, with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore to be implemented over five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26, to fill critical gaps in health infrastructure, surveillance and health research spanning both the urban and rural areas," she said. It was also aimed at strengthening "the public health infrastructure and to effectively manage and respond towards any future pandemics and outbreaks", she added. The scheme focussed on developing capacities of health systems and institutions across the continuum of care at all levels primary, secondary and tertiary and on preparing health systems to respond effectively to current and future pandemics disasters.
PM-ABHIM was a centrally sponsored scheme (CSS), and it also provided support to states UTs for the "construction of Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM) in rural and urban areas, .