Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda said here on Sunday that a lot more needed to be done for ensuring universal access to equitable, affordable and quality healthcare services.
Speaking at the Tata Memorial Centre’s platinum jubilee conference ‘Healthcare: Commodity or basic human need’, Nadda said, “It is our endeavour to ensure that all persons have access to quality health care. However, a lot more needs to be done for achieving universal access to equitable, affordable and quality healthcare services”.
The Minister said that the conference was uniquely relevant in the current context given the high cost of modern health care interventions and the enormous market and peer pressure to adopt them versus a basic necessity for survival.
Nadda said that his Ministry was implementing a number of schemes, programmes and national initiatives to expand the reach and increase access to quality healthcare. “India is projected to nearly achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal (MDG) no 4 of reducing to reduce child mortality, MDG no 5 of improving maternal health, while the MDG 6 goal to reverse the incidence of Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS has already been achieved,” the minister said.
“What is perhaps noteworthy is that India’s Under-five Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio declined at a higher pace than global average. There has been a significant decline in Total Fertility Rate (TFR),” Nadda said.
The Minister said that the country faced twin burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. “Cancer control is a major challenge for all of us. The Government is committed for the protection and cure of its people from cancer,” Nadda said.
Nadda said that the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) was being implemented to supplement the efforts of the State Governments for improving healthcare including prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Cancer. “We have also approved a scheme for enhancing the Tertiary Care Cancer facilities in the country under NPCDCS,” he said.
The Minister said that the treatment of cancer was either free or subsidised in the Government Institutions. “We are also providing financial assistance to poor patients under Health Minister’s Discretionary Grant (HMDG), Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) within the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi,” he said.