One Nation, One Dialysis: On June 26, 2022, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, announced that the Central Government would shortly launch the "One Nation, One Dialysis" initiative.

Key Highlights:

• He announced the One Nation, One Dialysis Programme during his two-day visit to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
• It will be launched by the Government under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme.
• Through this scheme, any patient in India can get a dialysis facility from anywhere in the country.

Key Points about One Nation, One Dialysis’Programme:

• In line with the idea of one nation and one service, the Central Government has been planning to introduce another service under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme under the National Health Mission called "One Nation, One Dialysis."
• The One Nation, One Dialysis initiative will facilitate the dialysis facility for needy patients anywhere in the country.

About National Dialysis Programme:

• In the Budget Speech of 2016-2017, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of a National Dialysis Programme under a public-private partnership at the district hospitals.
• The programme was launched by the Government of India (GoI) keeping in view the fact that every year about 2.2 lakh new patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) get added to the country resulting in additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis each year.

Significance of One Nation, One Dialysis Programme:

• Every year, there is an increase in patients with end-stage renal diseases, which increases the demand for 3.4 crore dialysis treatments.
• The demand is not fully satisfied by the infrastructure at this time, despite India having approximately 4,950 dialysis centres, most of which are private.
• Practically all families of patients who require dialysis suffer a financial catastrophe as a result of the high cost of care.
• A dialysis programme is found necessary both in terms of providing significant life-saving procedures and in terms of lowering patient poverty due to out-of-pocket expenses.

What is Dialysis?

• Dialysis is a medical procedure that performs some of the functions of healthy kidneys. When renal failure reaches its latter stage, it becomes necessary.

Dialysis maintains the balance of the body by:

1. Removing waste, salt, and extra water to prevent them from building up in the body.
2. Keeping a safe level of certain chemicals in your blood, such as potassium, sodium and bicarbonate.
3. Helping to control blood pressure.