{"id":29356,"date":"2024-09-12T19:40:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=29356"},"modified":"2024-09-12T19:40:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:10:48","slug":"new-act-for-public-health-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-09-2024\/new-act-for-public-health-crisis","title":{"rendered":"New Act for Public Health Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus :GS 2\/Health&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An expert group constituted by NITI Aayog&nbsp; has proposed a <strong>new Public Health Emergency Management Act (PHEMA)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Public Health Emergency Management Act (PHEMA)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It will address a range of public health issues, including epidemics, non-communicable diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism, through a holistic approach covering prevention, control, and disaster response.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Act would also provide for the creation of skilled public health cadres at national and state levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Priority Targets:&nbsp; <\/strong>Developing human resources and infrastructure.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Creating innovative countermeasures and appropriate high-risk financing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthening regulatory frameworks and surveillance networks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connecting epidemiological, genomic, laboratory, and clinical data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Public Health Crisis : Challenges and Concern&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India, with its vast population and diverse healthcare landscape, faces several public health challenges.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infectious diseases : <\/strong>India grapples with infectious diseases that pose significant threats to public health. For example\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&nbsp;<strong>The COVID-19 <\/strong>pandemic has strained healthcare systems, leading to overwhelmed hospitals, shortages of medical supplies, and loss of lives.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vector-Borne Diseases<\/strong>: Diseases like malaria, dengue, and chikungunya continue to affect large sections of the population.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure : <\/strong>India\u2019s healthcare infrastructure faces challenges related to funding, infrastructure gaps, and inadequate staffing.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rural areas often lack proper medical facilities, leading to disparities in healthcare access.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Shortage of Healthcare Workers<\/strong>: The shortage of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals exacerbates the crisis.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Malnutrition and Maternal Health:<\/strong> Despite progress, malnutrition remains a significant concern.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India still grapples with high maternal mortality rates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) : <\/strong>Diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular conditions are on the rise<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental Health<\/strong>: India faces severe air pollution, especially in urban centers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This contributes to respiratory diseases and other health issues.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India&#8217;s public health spending : It <\/strong>&nbsp;has been meager, hovering around 1% of GDP.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite recent increases bringing this closer to 2%, it remains inadequate when compared to global standards.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Initiatives&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Rural Health Mission (2005)<\/strong> and <strong>National Health Mission (2013)<\/strong> focused on strengthening public sector health care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recent policies emphasize publicly funded health insurance (PFHI) schemes like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-01-2022\/pradhan-mantri-jan-arogya-yojna-pm-jay\"><strong>PMJAY<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic survey data&nbsp; :&nbsp; <\/strong>As a percent of GDP, expenditure on social services has increased from 6.7% in 2017-18 to 7.8% in 2023-24.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Correspondingly, health expenditure has increased from <strong>1.4% to 1.9% in the same period.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&nbsp;Budget Allocation:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e5e1e1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"499\" height=\"245\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Budget-Allocation-jpg.webp\" alt=\"\u00a0Budget Allocation\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-29358\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e5e1e1; width:459px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Budget-Allocation-jpg.webp 499w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Budget-Allocation-300x147.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Suggestions and Way Forward&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s public health crisis demands a multi-pronged approach involving government policies, community participation, and international collaboration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lessons&nbsp; need to be learnt from national and global experiences with COVID-19 to inform future preparedness and response strategies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To address the gaps exposed by the pandemic, there must be an increase in <strong>public health funding<\/strong>, focusing on both infrastructure and human resources.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening the financial support<\/strong> to states is crucial.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Establishing a strong surveillance network<\/strong> and improving data management will be essential for effective public health responses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Investing in the training and development of healthcare <\/strong>professionals is vital.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&nbsp;Establish health cadres at both national and state levels to improve emergency management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create an Empowered Group of Secretaries on Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response (PPER), chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, to coordinate responses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build and maintain a trained workforce ready for rapid response during emergencies and ensure preparedness during peacetime.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is a&nbsp; need for establishment of a Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response Fund for effective and timely action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: IE<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An expert group constituted by NITI Aayog\u00a0 has proposed a new Public Health Emergency Management Act (PHEMA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29356"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29371,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29356\/revisions\/29371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}