India committed to achieving universal health coverage : Nadda

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda while addressing the Plenary Meeting of the 71st World Health Assembly at Geneva on May 21, 2018, said India is firmly committed to achieving universal health coverage for its citizens as has been articulated in its National Health Policy 2017. Nadda spoke on ‘ Health for All: Commit To Universal Health Coverage (UHC)’.

Reiterating the commitment of the government, Nadda said that India has fasttracked many initiatives aimed at achieving all the tenets of Universal Health Coverage including strengthening health system and improving access to free medicine and diagnostics. The Union Health Minister said that PM Narendra Modi recently launched ‘Ayushman Bharat’. The programme rests on the twin pillars of Health and Wellness Centres, the provision of comprehensive primary healthcare services and the Prime Minister’s National Health Protection Mission for secondary and tertiary care for 100 million families covering 500 million individuals.

“We are reaching out to approximately 40% of the country’s population who will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 5,00,000 per year. This will be the world’s largest government funded health protection scheme in the world,”  Nadda added.

Nadda further said that to reduce the burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), India has already initiated universal screening for prevention and management of five common NCDs: hypertension, diabetes and three common cancers – those of the oral cavity, breast and cervix for individuals at pan India level. ” We have also started providing medicine for cancers, cardiovascular diseases and cardiac implants at significantly reduced prices,”  Nadda elaborated.

Nadda informed the participants that in line with India’s ambitious plan to end TB by 2025, the Government has started the implementation of the National Strategic Plan for TB and allocated 550 million dollars. “Apart from rapid scale up of diagnostics and treatment, we have introduced supplementary nutrition for patients for duration of treatment,”  Nadda said.

Earlier,  Nadda also addressed the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of the 71st World Health Assembly and spoke about the global fight against Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs). He said that interventions for prevention and control of NCDs are to be prioritized and are to be integrated at all levels of health care delivery systems.  He said that for comprehensive management of lifestyle related disorders, a pilot project on ‘Integration of AYUSH with National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS)’ has been initiated.