1. National Health Mission (NHM) was launched by the Government of India under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2013, subsuming the National Rural Health Mission (launched in 2005) and a National Urban Health Mission (launched in 2013).
2. The NHM envisages achievement of universal access to equitable, affordable and quality healthcare services that are accountable and responsive to people’s needs.
3. The main components of NHM include Health System Strengthening in rural and urban areas for – Reproductive-Maternal-Neonatal-Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A), and Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases.
4. Objectives:

• The mission targets to move beyond earlier missions focus on reproductive and child health
• Tackle 2 categories of diseases – Communicable and Non-Communicable
• To give a major impetus to health infrastructure facilities at District and Sub-District levels.

5. Some of the major goals of National Health mission are:

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR) – Reduce it to 2.1
• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) – Reduce it to 25 per 1000 live births
• Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) – Reduce it to 1 per 1000 live births
• Bring down the malaria cases to less than 1 per 1000 population.
• Prevent and reduce anaemia in women in the age bracket of 15 years to 49 years.
• Bring down cases and mortality due to tuberculosis by half.

6. There are around 24 major initiatives under the National Health Mission.

7. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Rogi Kalyan Samiti Hospital/Management, United Grants to Sub Centres, Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committee (VHSNC), Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSY), National Mobile Medical Units, National Ambulance Service, Infrastructure Development and Comprehensive Primary Healthcare are some of the major ones.