Priority for six districts under health mission

New Delhi: Aiming to provide equitable healthcare, the Centre had identified the bottom 25 per cent of the districts in every state based on composite health index as High Priority Districts (HPDs) for the implementation of the National Health Mission. Under this, all Left Wing Affected (LWE) districts and districts with majority tribal population whose composite health index is below 50 per cent are also categorised as HPDs.

As many as 184 HPDs have been identified. Of these, there are six in the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Vizianagaram, Kadapa, Kurnool, Mahububnagar, Visakapatnam and Adilabad. But these districts were identified by the Centre before the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda said this through a written reply in the Lok Sabha. He mentioned that implementation and progress of the National Health Mission (NHM) is reviewed at the national level through Sample Registration Survey (SRS), the District Level Household Survey (DLHS), Annual Health Surveys and National Family Health Survey (NFHS) which provide data on outcomes and service delivery.

Moreover, for its implementation, it is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and all States/districts are required to have a system of periodic concurrent audit and an annual audit. Monitoring is also done through Hospital Management Information System and Mother and Child Tracking System.