Rohit Shishodia

Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs), opened in different parts of India in 2018 as part of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana, have played a key role providing non-Covid treatment to people during the lockdown.

As per Union Health Ministry data, around 8.8 crore people have been treated in the centers during lockdown period since February 2020. The ministry said that HWC teams have played a key role in ensuring that non-Covid essential services are provided to their communities.

Having undertaken the population-based screenings for non-communicable diseases, the HWC teams already have a list of those with chronic disease and are able to rapidly screen individuals with co-morbidities and provide advice for protection against infection. Immunization sessions are being organized by the HWC teams where medical checkups of pregnant women are ensured. Delivery of essential medicines to TB, Leprosy, Hypertensive and Diabetic patients is also being undertaken by the HWC teams.

In Jharkhand, as part of a State wide Intensive Public Health Survey Week, HWC teams screened people for Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) symptoms and facilitated testing for Covid-19.

The HWC team at Subalaya in Odisha conducted health check-ups and created awareness among people about preventive measures for Covid-19 such as frequent handwashing with soap and water, wearing masks/face covers while stepping out in public spaces, maintaining adequate physical distancing when interacting with people etc.

They also conducted wellness sessions for migrants at the temporary medical camps functioning as quarantine centres. The HWC team of Grandhi in Rajasthan supported the local district administration in screening all travelers for Covid-19 at the Bikaner-Jodhpur border check post. HWC team in Meghalaya conducted orientation of community leaders and school teachers on preventive measures to prevent community spread of Covid-19.

Since February 2020, 1.41 crore individuals were screened at the HWCs for hypertension, 1.13 crore for diabetes and 1.34 crore for oral, breast or cervical cancer. Medicines were dispensed at the HWCs to about 5.62 lakh patients of hypertension and 3.77 lakh diabetes patients during the month of June alone, despite the challenges posed by Covid-19. As many as 6.53 lakh yoga and wellness sessions have also been organised at the HWCs in the period since the Covid-19 outbreak.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the resilience of health systems was reflected through continued operationalization of HWCs and continued delivery of non-Covid-19 essential health services while also meeting the urgent tasks of prevention and management of Covid-19. Between the period of January to June, 2020, additional 12,425 HWCs were operationalized, increasing the number of HWCs from 29,365 to 41,790. 

Health and Wellness Centres have demonstrated that creation of strong primary health care systems closer to the community are critical to the delivery of essential primary health care services to the community while also responding to the challenge of managing a pandemic.