Ayushman Bharat Mission a turning point: WHO chief

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 14

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today hailed India for setting ambitious health targets and said that was the way to plan.

At a special session at NITI Aayog, the visiting WHO Director General described the newly announced Ayushman Bharat Mission of the Health Ministry as a “turning point” and called the mission a “bold, ambitious and courageous move”. 

The mission consists of two components—a National Health Protection Scheme to provide Rs 5-lakh annual health cover to poor and vulnerable families and a pan-India spread of 1.5 lakh primary healthcare centres.

Ghebreyesus hailed the incumbent government for setting high targets saying: “As a nation, India has changed the way it plans things. India has decided to stretch itself to a breaking point to succeed in the health sector and that’s what I call a plan. I have always felt that the best way to plan is to target blanket coverage rather than piecemeal coverage. A plan that’s easy to achieve is not a plan,” the WHO boss said in presence of NITI Aayog’s top brass, including CEO Rajeev Kumar and Member Health VK Paul.

Ghebreyesus was particularly hopeful around India’s promised universal health assurance scheme that Finance Minister announced in his Budget speech. He said, “If India can achieve universal health coverage, any country can. India’s success is that important.”

WHO chief also indicated that UHC would be the big talking point at the 2018 World Health Assembly where it would be expected of member nations to come prepared with plans on expanding health access for all over the next 12 months.

Ghebreyesus however minced no words in stressing that achieving UHC globally would be a challenge.