Nidhi Dave
NEW DELHI, July 9: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has successfully conducted a two-day National Training of Trainers (NToT) programme for healthcare professionals delivering primary healthcare services at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs).
Held at the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) in New Delhi, the programme brought together more than 110 National and Master Trainers from across the country.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the inaugural session was chaired by Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM). Addressing the participants, Ms Patnaik highlighted the importance of a skilled healthcare workforce in strengthening public health services. She stressed the need for cadre-based training through a decentralised model and said the programme would be rolled out in a cascade mode across more than 100 Regional Training Institutes nationwide from August.
She also emphasised the need for better integration across health programmes and stronger coordination among agencies to improve service delivery. Highlighting the importance of people-centred care, she said healthcare training should focus not only on technical skills but also on behavioral competencies, empathy and effective communication.
The National Training of Trainers programme follows the launch of the Integrated Training Strategy (ITS) by Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda during the National Summit on Best Practices held in Chandigarh on April 30, 2026.
According to the ministry, the Integrated Training Strategy marks a shift from programme-specific training to a patient-centric, competency-based approach. It aims to strengthen the technical and behavioral skills of Medical Officers, Staff Nurses, Community Health Officers (CHOs), Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) providing primary healthcare services through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
The National Training of Trainers (ToT) programme brought together more than 110 National and Master Trainers from across the country to strengthen the quality of primary healthcare services through standardised, competency-based training. The National ToT has been designed as an immersive learning experience, combining classroom sessions, case-based discussions and hands-on practical training at the NIHFW Skill Lab. It focused on strengthening technical competencies, clinical skills and communication to help frontline healthcare workers deliver high-quality, patient-centred care.
The Integrated Training Strategy is expected to improve the quality of primary healthcare services by standardising training and equipping frontline health workers with the skills needed to meet the country’s evolving healthcare needs. The programme was also attended by Sibin C, Joint Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Prof. (Dr.) Pragya Sharma, Executive Director of the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC); and senior officials from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), National Medical Commission (NMC) and Mission Karmayogi Bharat (MKB).
