The National Health Mission (NHM) was launched with a view to bringing about improvements to the health system and health status of people, especially those who live in the rural areas of the country. The Mission seeks to provide universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care which is accountable at the same time responsive to the needs of the people, reduction of child and maternal deaths as well as population stabilization, gender and demographic balance. In this process, the Mission helps achieve goals set under the National Health Policy and the Millennium Development Goals.