India will soon achieve universal health coverage

India is committed to achieving universal health coverage for its citizens as mentioned in the National Health Policy 2017, Union health minister J P Naddasaid while leading the Indian delegation at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. Nadda said India has fast-tracked initiatives aimed at achieving the tenets of universal health coverage – strengthening health systems, improving access to free medicines and diagnostics and reducing catastrophic healthcare spending. He said the government recently launched the Ayushman Bharat programme, which rests on the twin pillars of health and wellness centres, and the National Health Protection Mission for 100 million families covering 500 million individuals. “We are reaching out to approximately 40 per cent of the country’s population who will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 500,000 per year. This will be the largest government-funded health protection scheme in the world,” he said. Nadda told the participants that in line with India’s ambitious plan to end TB by 2025, the government has started the implementation of a national strategic plan and allocated $550 million. “Apart from rapid scale up of diagnostics and treatment, we have introduced supplementary nutrition for patients for duration of treatment,” he said. Nadda highlighted the need for interventions for prevention and control of NCDs. He urged countries to prioritise the efforts and integrated healthcare delivery systems at all levels. “India’s National Health Policy 2017 commits to achieving a target of raising public health expenditure to 2.5 per cent of the GDP in a time-bound manner by 2025 and the government is committed to providing the resources for achieving universal health coverage,” he said.