“A total of 1,63,273 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are operational across the country. A total of 18.46 crore for oral cancer, 8.88 crore for breast cancer and 4.96 crore for cervical cancer are screened,” Mandaviya said.
The screened positive patients are referred to community health centre (CHC) NCD clinics or district hospital NCD clinics to get diagnosed and referred to an appropriate facility for treatment, he added.
Under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), 753 district NCD clinics, 355 district daycare centres and 6,237 community health centre NCD clinics have so far been set up, the minister informed.
The Department of Health Research (DHR) has established the DHR-ICMR Advanced Molecular Oncology Diagnostic Services (DIAMOnDS) sub-scheme under which 18 centres are providing breast and lung cancer screening, he said.
To generate awareness for cancer prevention and treatment, several actions have been taken and as a part of it, the preventive aspect of cancer has been strengthened under comprehensive primary healthcare through the Ayushman Arogya Mandir scheme by promoting wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level, Mandaviya said. Public awareness creation is being done through print, electronic and social media to promote a healthy lifestyle, including the observation of National Cancer Awareness Day and World Cancer Day, he added. Healthy eating is promoted through the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and various yoga-related activities are carried out by the Ministry of AYUSH, he said.
In terms of infrastructure, the Centre implements the strengthening of tertiary-care cancer facilities scheme, the minister said.
Besides, 19 state cancer institutes (SCIs) and 20 tertiary-care cancer centres (TCCCs) have been approved under the said scheme. The National Cancer Institute at Haryana’s Jhajjar and a second campus of the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata have also been set up, Mandaviya said.
All the new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and 13 upgraded government medical colleges and institutions under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) also focus on the treatment of cancer, he added.
Mandaviya also listed out the steps taken to facilitate accessible and affordable healthcare and treatment.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary or tertiary-care hospitalisation is provided to 12 crore beneficiary families, he highlighted.
The Health Benefit Package (HBP) 2022 provides treatment corresponding to a total of 1,121 treatment packages comprising 1,949 procedures across 27 different specialties for NCDs. Of these procedures, 549 are related to cancer, the minister informed.
As of December 7, a total of 35.07 lakh hospital admissions amounting to Rs 6,572.25 crore have been authorised through a network of 1,980 hospitals, he said.
Financial assistance is provided to patients belonging to families living below poverty line, suffering from major life-threatening diseases, including cancer, under the umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and the Health Minister’s Discretionary Grant (HMDG), Mandaviya said.
