India & WHO sign Memorandum of Agreement

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO met Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda, here on March 13, 2018. They discussed perspectives on national , regional and global public health programmes. Dr Tedros complimented the Government of India on the courageous and bold initiatives taken to expand universal health coverage through the two pillars of Ayushman Bharat.

The 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres will definitely take primary health care closer to the people and the path breaking National Health Protection Scheme will provide the secondary and tertiary care to 500 million people of the country providing the continuum of care to the citizens, Dr Tedros remarked, according to a PIB release.

Dr Tedros also appreciated the community engagement and feedback through digital outreach witnessed by him during field visit to the Mother and Child Facilitation Centre at NIHFW on March 12, 2018, and stated that such best practices should be documented and shared with other countries in the region and beyond.

Nadda thanked the DG, WHO, for their continued technical support to the national programmes. He said that the Government is progressively increasing the budgetary support to the health sector and working in spirit of cooperative federalism with the states.

To further strengthen collaborative work between India and WHO in achieving improved health outcomes,  Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organization (WHO) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) here on the day.