Centre unveils new maternal and child health initiatives

The Centre on Monday (June 29, 2026) unveiled a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening maternal and child healthcare, emergency medical services, and anaemia control during the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW), while highlighting improvements in key health indicators and calling for greater Centre-State collaboration to achieve universal health coverage.

Chairing the conference, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda said the government’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 could not be realised without a healthy population, describing health as one of the key pillars of national development.

Among the major announcements was the launch of the revised Anaemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, which seeks to broaden the country’s strategy against anaemia through saturation-based screening, digital beneficiary tracking, case-based management, dietary diversification, and behaviour change interventions across all beneficiary groups.

The Ministry also released the ‘Operational Guidelines on National Ambulance Services, 2026’, which establish uniform national standards for emergency medical transport by standardising ambulance infrastructure, staffing, equipment, response protocols, and digital integration across States and Union Territories.

Another key initiative is the release of the SUMAN Roadmap 2030, a strategy to improve maternal and newborn healthcare by strengthening service quality, promoting maternity care, and reducing preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.

The conference also marked the launch of the Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram, which integrates home-based newborn care and home-based care for young children into a single programme for a continuum of care from birth to five years through regular home visits, early detection of illnesses, nutrition counselling, and timely referrals.

Reviewing the government’s health achievements, Mr. Nadda said India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio had declined from 130 to 87 per one lakh live births since 2014, while the under-five mortality rate had fallen by 79% since 1990. The country’s total fertility rate had reached 2.0, and life expectancy had increased to 70.3 years, he said.

The Minister also highlighted gains in disease control, citing a 21% decline in tuberculosis incidence, elimination of neonatal tetanus, sustained polio-free status, progress in the elimination of kala-azar, and significant reductions in malaria cases and deaths. Mission Indradhanush had immunised over 5.46 crore children who had missed routine vaccination, while more than 50 lakh adolescent girls had received the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine since the nationwide drive began in February, Mr. Nadda said.

Describing health as a State subject, Mr. Nadda said the Centre would continue to provide policy direction, technical support, and financial assistance, while emphasising that successful implementation depended on active participation by States and Union Territories.