New Delhi, Sep 29 : Nine lakh health camps have been held across the country under the 'Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar Abhiyaan', said Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Monday.

Speaking at a media event in the national capital, Nadda noted that the health camps have screened over 3.6 crore people for non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancers.

'The health initiative that was launched on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, and will run till Gandhi Jayanti, is called Swasth Nari, Sashakt Nari. So far, 9,00,000 health camps have been organised and each was attended by specialists. Nearly 3.6 crore have already been screened, and I believe we will cross 4 crore by October 2,' Nadda said.

At the nationwide health camps, citizens have been screened for hypertension, diabetes, breast cancer, cervical cancer, oral cancer, and anaemia.

The camps also conducted antenatal check-ups, provided life-saving vaccines to children, and nutrition counselling sessions to families.

Further, the health camps also conducted screening for tuberculosis and Sickle Cell Disease, registered blood donors, and issued new Ayushman/PM-JAY cards.

The Health Minister noted that the country's health policy has changed over the last decade, and a holistic health approach has been introduced since 2014.

'In this approach, we started looking at health by incorporating prevention, health promotion, detection, curative, and palliative parts into our system,' Nadda said.

As part of this continued approach, the government has established 1,79,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, which serve as the first point of contact to connect with 140 crore citizens.

Further, from the very day a woman conceives, ASHA workers start tracking their health, check-up regimen, and share the data with the state government.

He also shared the achievements in the rate of institutional deliveries.

'Our institutional delivery rate has increased from 79 per cent to about 90 per cent. This progress has been possible because we incentivised ASHA workers. For every mother, the delivery is free, and the transportation to the institution and back home is provided by the government,' Nadda said.

He also spoke about the health initiatives launched by PM Modi, such as the Fit India Movement, POSHAN Abhiyan, and Khelo India, to promote a healthy lifestyle.

The Minister also highlighted a positive change in mental health awareness, and that the availability of high-quality medicines has supported people in leading a normal and healthier life.

/IANS