India showcases health reforms at UNGA
India highlighted its progress in expanding universal health coverage, eliminating viral hepatitis and strengthening sickle cell disease care during key global health engagements on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) in New York.
India reiterated its commitment to making quality healthcare accessible and affordable for all, while sharing its experience in strengthening public health systems and addressing priority health challenges, a health ministry statement said. Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava participated in the Seventh Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Global Health.
She highlighted India’s efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery across the continuum, from comprehensive primary healthcare to secondary and tertiary care, while protecting people from financial hardship.
She also spoke of India’s network of over 1.8 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, which bring a broad range of healthcare services closer to communities, the statement said. These include services for reproductive and child health, screening and management of non-communicable diseases, mental health, elderly and palliative care, along with preventive, promotive and curative healthcare. She also underlined the continued focus on quality standards in primary healthcare delivery.
Srivastava highlighted the role of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the publicly funded health assurance scheme, in strengthening financial protection for vulnerable and underserved sections of society.
She also underlined the importance of the Free Drugs and Diagnostics Service Initiative and the Prime Minister’s National Dialysis Programme in reducing patients’ financial burden and improving access to essential healthcare services.
Emphasising the importance of an integrated continuum of care, she noted that India’s approach connects comprehensive primary healthcare through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs with secondary and tertiary care, supported by referral linkages.
Highlighting India’s growing digital health ecosystem, the Union Health Secretary noted that over 900 million citizens have unique health identities. Interoperable digital registries of health facilities and healthcare professionals, along with ABHA-enabled health records, are strengthening continuity of care and facilitating access to health services.
She also highlighted the growing use of technology to bridge geographical barriers in healthcare. Over 497 million tele-consultations have been facilitated through e-Sanjeevani, alongside services and innovations such as tel-radiology, AI-enabled X-rays and Mobile Medical Units.
These initiatives are helping extend healthcare services to people in remote and under-served areas.
Delivering India’s perspective at the UNGA81 side event on “Advancing Global Action to Eliminate Hepatitis”, the Union health secretary highlighted the country’s commitment to the 2030 goal of eliminating Hepatitis B and C as public health threats.
Embedded within the National Health Mission (NHM) framework, viral hepatitis screening services are being provided from nearly 1.80 lakh primary healthcare facilities, including Health and Wellness Centres, to tertiary care facilities.
The programme has also expanded to 1,039 treatment centres. Since the launch of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme in 2018, nearly 225 million beneficiaries have been screened.
Srivastava also highlighted efforts to strengthen prevention by integrating viral hepatitis interventions across national health programmes, including measures to prevent mother-to-child transmission under the reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health framework.
At another key global health engagement on the sidelines of UNGA81, India co-hosted the launch of OneSCD: A Global Partnership to Advance Equity and Transform Sickle Cell Care, bringing together global partners to strengthen the international response to Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), the statement said.
The initiative brought together partners including the Government of Nigeria, WHO, UNICEF, Africa CDC, the World Coalition on Sickle Cell Disease and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, with a shared focus on advancing more equitable and accessible approaches to sickle cell care.
Speaking at the launch, Srivastava highlighted India’s comprehensive response to sickle cell disease through the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, launched in 2023 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to eliminate sickle cell anaemia as a public health problem by 2047.
She outlined India’s approach of integrating population-level screening, early diagnosis, counselling, treatment, follow-up and digital tracking into the public health system. The mission seeks to identify the disease and carrier status early, facilitate appropriate counselling and ensure that individuals diagnosed with sickle cell disease remain connected to care.
Under the mission, over 7.29 crore people have been screened, over 20 lakh carriers identified and 2.5 lakh people diagnosed, while more than 4.93 crore sickle cell cards have been distributed.
These efforts are strengthening the continuum of care and creating greater awareness among individuals, families and communities about the disease.
