{"id":30539,"date":"2024-10-08T17:56:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T12:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=30539"},"modified":"2024-10-08T17:56:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T12:26:37","slug":"universal-health-coverage-uhc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-10-2024\/universal-health-coverage-uhc","title":{"rendered":"Universal Health Coverage (UHC)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Health Minister said that \u201cIndia\u2019s health system embraces a \u201cwhole of government\u201d and \u201cwhole of society\u201d approach<strong> to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Universal Health Coverage?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It means that all people have<strong> access to the full range of quality health services<\/strong> without financial hardship.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key components of UHC include:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Access to Care: <\/strong>Everyone should be able to obtain necessary health services when they need them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Quality Services: <\/strong>The care provided should be effective, safe, and of good quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial Protection:<\/strong> Individuals should not face financial difficulties due to medical expenses.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Achieving UHC is one of the targets the nations of the world set when they adopted the <strong>2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>UHC in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Constitutional Provisions: <\/strong>The <strong>Directive Principles of State Policy<\/strong> in Part IV of the Constitution provides a basis for the right to health.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 39 (e) <\/strong>directs the state to secure the health of workers; <strong>Article 42 <\/strong>emphasises just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief; and <strong>Article 47<\/strong> casts a duty on the state to raise the nutrition levels and standard of living, and to improve public health.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Constitution also endows the panchayats and municipalities to strengthen public health under <strong>Article 243G<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India&#8217;s National Health Policy of 1983<\/strong> recognized the goal of <strong>&#8220;Health for All&#8221; <\/strong>and emphasized the importance of primary healthcare and equitable distribution of healthcare resources.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Currently, India aims to attain UHC through the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the flagship publicly financed health insurance (PFHI) scheme of the Union government.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need of UHC in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Out of Pocket Expense: Over 40 percent<\/strong> of healthcare expenses in India are <strong>paid out-of-pocket,<\/strong> one of the highest rates worldwide.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consequently, these costs push more than 60 million <strong>Indians into poverty<\/strong> every year.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong> has underscored the critical need for robust and universal healthcare systems.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Coordination: <\/strong>Although several social health insurance schemes exist nationally and within states, their coordination remains insufficient, leading to partial overlap and underutilisation of their full potential.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preventive Health Services:<\/strong> UHC emphasizes preventive health services, which can lead to early detection and management of diseases, ultimately reducing the burden of chronic conditions and improving population health.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)<\/strong> Launched in 2005, was a flagship program of the Indian government aimed at strengthening healthcare in rural areas.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The program focused on maternal and child health, immunization, nutrition, and communicable diseases.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Health Policy (2017): <\/strong>This policy aims to achieve UHC by providing quality healthcare services to all, with an emphasis on primary healthcare, preventive measures, and strengthening the healthcare infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ayushman Bharat &#8211; Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY):<\/strong> In 2018, India launched the Ayushman Bharat program, which comprises two components &#8211; the Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) and PM-JAY.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>PM-JAY is the world&#8217;s largest government-funded health insurance scheme, providing health coverage to over 500 million vulnerable individuals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Adopting UHC in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Resource Constraints:<\/strong> India faces significant funding limitations in healthcare, with a low public health expenditure compared to many other countries. This affects the ability to provide comprehensive services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure Gaps: <\/strong>Many areas, especially rural regions, lack adequate healthcare infrastructure, including hospitals, clinics, and trained personnel, making access to care difficult.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Healthcare Workforce Shortages:<\/strong> There is a shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly in rural areas, leading to disparities in access and quality of care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fragmented Health Systems: <\/strong>India&#8217;s healthcare system is a mix of public and private providers, leading to inconsistencies in quality and accessibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has adopted several policies toward improving access to healthcare and has been an enthusiastic signatory to several global health policies to achieve UHC.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, despite these policy commitments, there has been limited success in realizing these goals.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A healthy population is an empowered population. The lighter the disease burden, the better the country\u2019s financial health.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Committing to investing in health systems and effectively implementing UHC necessitates political will, substantial investment, and a clear, long-term vision.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Establishing a coherent policy pathway to execute the national UHC policy consistently across States is imperative for its success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsonair.gov.in\/indias-health-system-embraces-whole-of-government-society-approach-to-achieve-uhc-union-minister-j-p-nadda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>AIR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Union Health Minister said that \u201cIndia\u2019s health system embraces a \u201cwhole of government\u201d and \u201cwhole of society\u201d approach to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).<\/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-30539","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\/30539","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=30539"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30540,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30539\/revisions\/30540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}