Lok Sabha Question No. 2242 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-29
Subject: Health Schemes for homeless people
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Sunil Kumar Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2242 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 th  JULY, 2022

## HEALTH SCHEMES FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE

## 2242. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the health schemes covering the homeless people and the people living along roadside and under the bridges;
- (b) if  so,  the details thereof stating number of such people covered/benefitted under the said schemes during the last five years, State/UT-wise;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the initiatives proposed to be taken in this regard?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (d): Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen the public healthcare facilities. Support is  provided  to  states/UTs  under  the  National  Health  Mission  (NHM)  for  strengthening  of health  care  facilities  as  per  norms  based  on  the  requirements  posed  by  them  in  their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) and within their overall resource envelope. Under NHM,  States  are  supported  for  several  interventions  towards  strengthening  the  primary healthcare services in the country. The NHM envisages achievement of universal access to equitable,  affordable  &  quality  health  care  services  that  are  accountable  and  responsive  to people's  needs.  Further,  under  NHM,  several  steps  have  been  taken  for  making  treatment affordable for poor including homeless people and the people living along roadside and under the bridges and reducing the out-of-pocket expenses.

-  Ayushman  Bharat  -  Health  &  Wellness  Centres  (AB-HWCs): 1,50,000  SubHealth  Centres  (SHC),  Primary  Health  Centres  (PHC)  and  Urban  Primary  Health Centres (UPHC) are transformed into Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs)  to  deliver  twelve  packages  of  Comprehensive  Primary  Health  Care (CPHC)  that  includes  preventive,  promotive,  curative,  palliative  and  rehabilitative services which is universal, free and close to the community.
-  National Free Drugs Initiative :  States/UTs are supported to provide essential drugs based  on  the  level  of  public  health  facilities  free  of  cost  to  all  who  access  these facilities.
-  Free Diagnostics Initiatives. (FDI): Under  the  initiative, support provided  to States/UTs to provide a set of essential diagnostics (14 tests at Sub Centre/ Health and

Wellness Centre level, 63 tests at PHC/ PHC-HWC level, 97 tests at CHC level, 111 tests at SDH level and 134 tests at DH level) at various levels of care, free of cost.

-  National  Ambulance  Services  (NAS) -    Under  the  NHM,  technical  and  financial support is provided for emergency medical services in States/UTs through a functional National Ambulance Service (NAS) network linked with a centralised toll-free number 108/102.
-  National  Mobile  Medical  Units  (NMMU) -  are  supported  to  facilitate  access  to public  health  care  at  the  doorstep  particularly  to  people  living  in  remote,  difficult, under-served and unreached areas to provide primary care services.
-  The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) promotes institutional delivery among pregnant women  especially  with  weak  socio-economic  status  i.e.  women  from  Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and BPL households.
-  Further,  initiatives  such  as Mission  Parivar  Vikas,  Adolescent  Friendly  Health Clinics  (AFHCs),  Weekly  Iron  Folic  Acid  Supplementation  (WIFS),  Menstrual Hygiene Scheme, Facility Based Newborn Care (FBNC), Home Based Newborn Care Program, Social Awareness and Actions to Neutralize Pneumonia Successfully  (SAANS),  Home  Based  Care  for  Young  Child  (HBYC),  Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram  (RBSK),  Early Childhood Development (ECD), Comprehensive  Abortion  Care  (CAC),  Anemia  Mukt  Bharat  (AMB)  strategy, Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) program are supported to increase access to quality healthcare services. Support is also provided to strengthen Universal Immunization programme , introduction of new vaccines.
-  In addition to NHM, Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPMJAY), provides health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families in the country as per Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC).