While we looked at the introduction of Primary Healthcare (PHC) as a concept (Alma Ata Declaration of 1978) in the first series of the blog (click here https://bit.ly/2Qr7vOJ ) let’s take a look at the transition from 1970’s PHC to what is widely used term in the last couple of decades – Universal Health Coverage (UHC) There is no doubt that PHC initiatives resulted in significant improvements in healthcare infrastructure from 1970’s to early 2000’s – the emerging challenges seen in South East Asia (SEA) were the rise in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) due to increase + ageing population and rapid … Continue reading Primary Healthcare at 40 – Transition to Universal Healthcare (UHC) Part II

Primary Healthcare (PHC) as a powerful concept was conceptualized as Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 which set out a global agenda “Health for All” It is 40 years since the major milestone of 20th century in the field of public health – while everybody is busy predicting what will happen in 2030, I for a change decided to take a stock of what has been done in the past forty years! Is Primary Healthcare an Utopia? Guess, it is… because the Oxford Dictionary defines “Utopia”as “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect” I am sure … Continue reading Primary Healthcare at 40 – What has changed since Alma Ata Declaration of 1978? Part I

The Government of India dissolved the existing “National Health Agency” and restructured it to form a new body called as “National Health Authority” (NHA) for better implementation of Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enable faster decision making and ensure smooth implementation of Ayushman Bharat scheme – hailed as one of the world’s largest health insurance scheme. Whats new about NHA? NHA’s governing board will be chaired by the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare along with other members being NITI … Continue reading Cabinet approves formation of National Health Authority