New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government is working to ensure that critical healthcare facilities come up at the block level and close to villages and should not just be limited to the cities. “This infrastructure needs to be maintained and upgraded from time to time. For this the private sector and other sectors will also have to come forward with more energy,” he said. Modi’s comments came while inaugurating the post Union Budget webinar of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare attended by healthcare professionals from public and private sectors, para-medics, nursing staff and health management. He said that in order to strengthen the primary healthcare network, work on 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centers was progressing briskly and more than 85,000 centers were providing the facility of routine check-ups, vaccination and tests. “We have adopted a holistic approach in our healthcare system. Today our focus is not only on health, but equally on wellness.” In this budget, the facility of mental healthcare has been added, he said. “As the demand for healthcare services is increasing, we are also trying to create skilled health professionals. Therefore, a significant hike is made in the budget for health education and human resource development related to healthcare as compared to last year.” Modi noted the growing global acceptance of Ayusht. “It is a matter of pride that WHO is going to launch its only Global Centre of Traditional Medicine in the world in India. Now it is up to all of us how to create better solutions of Ayush for ourselves and for the world as well.” The webinar was the fifth in a series post budget addressed by the Prime Minister. UNI ASU MR
