On September 23, 2019 the union minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched ‘UMMID’ (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) initiative designed on the concept of “prevention is better than cure” to make efforts to tackle genetic diseases inherited by new born babies, in New Delhi. He also inaugurated ‘NIDAN’ (National Inherited Diseases Administration) Kendras, under the aegis of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology.
Key points
i. UMMID aim: The aim of UMMID is
- To establish NIDAN kendras for testing, diagnosis and treatment of genetic disease with multidisciplinary care especially in govt. Hospitals as a part of first phase.
- Producing skilled clinicians in Human Genetics and
- Screening of pregnant women and the newborn for genetic disease in aspirational districts.
ii. UMMID initiative will work under the National Health Policy, 2017 that aims to shift focus from “sick-care” to “wellness”. This initiative will be taken to other countries in its next phases.
iii. Initially 5 NIDAN kendras have been established for providing clinical care.
iv. Genetics training: Madras Medical Mission- Chennai; Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) Lucknow; The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) , Hyderabad; All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi; Maulana Azad Medical College(MAMC) New Delhi; National Institute of Immunohaematology(NIIH) Mumbai and Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore have been supported to provide training in Biochemical Genetics, Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, and Clinical Genetics to the clinicians of government hospitals. Screening of 10,000 pregnant women and 5000 new born babies per year will be done in the following 7 aspirational districts.
Aspirational districts:
| No. | Institute | Aspirational district | State name |
| 1 | SGPGIMS, Lucknow | Sharawasti | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2 | NIIH, Mumbai | Nandurbar | Maharashtra |
| 3 | CMC, Vellore | Washim | Maharashtra |
| 4 | CDFD, Hyderabad | Yadgir | Karnataka |
| 5 | LHMC, New Delhi | Mewat | Haryana |
| 6 | AIIMS, New Delhi | Haridwar | Uttarakhand |
| 7 | MAMC, New Delhi | Ranchi/Bokaro | Jharkhand |
Initial 5 NIDAN kendras:
| No. | NIDAN kendra |
| 1 | Lady Hardinge Medical College(LHMC), Delhi. |
| 2 | Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences(NIMS), Hyderabad, Telangana. |
| 3 | AIIMS, Jodhpur. |
| 4 | Army Hospital Research Camp,Referral Delhi |
| 5 | Nil RatanSircar(NRS) Medical College and hospital, Kolkata |
About union health ministry:
Founded- 1976.
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Minister of State (MoS)- Ashwini Kumar Choubey (constituency- Buxar, Bihar)