Overview
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has intensified its focus on women’s and child health through the SNSPA framework. Under the NHM, the government has rolled out expanded primary care services, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and a massive HPV vaccination drive targeting adolescent girls.
Key Developments
- Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) are being leveraged to bring a broader package of promotive, preventive and curative services closer to the community, including regular screening camps.
- Each AAM observes 42 health calendar days and conducts ten wellness sessions every month, covering health talks, diet counselling, yoga, meditation and substance‑abuse cessation.
- The government launched a nationwide free HPV vaccination campaign on 28 February 2026, targeting about 1.2 crore girls aged 14 across all 36 states and UTs.
- Eligibility exclusions for the HPV vaccine include moderate/severe illness, allergy to yeast, pregnancy, age out‑of‑range, and prior receipt of any HPV vaccine dose.
- Vaccination status is to be updated on the U‑WIN portal.
Important Facts
The campaign underscores Jan Bhagidaari as a core principle, ensuring that behavioural change achieved during the campaign is institutionalised. The HPV vaccine efficacy details are publicly available in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) on the CDSCO website, ensuring transparency.
UPSC Relevance
Understanding the Ayushman Arogya Mandir model helps answer questions on primary health care delivery and community participation. The HPV vaccination drive illustrates the government's preventive health strategy, relevant for topics on immunisation, women’s health, and public health policy. The role of the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in articulating policy also ties into governance and policy‑making themes.
Way Forward
To sustain the gains, states must continue regular health‑calendar events at AAMs, strengthen data‑driven monitoring via the U‑WIN portal, and address vaccine hesitancy through targeted IEC (Information, Education, Communication) campaigns. Scaling the SNSPA model to other health domains can further embed community participation in India’s health system.