National Health Policy, 2017

Question: The National Health Policy, 2017 approved by Cabinet on 15th March, 2017, proposes to increase public health expenditure to what percent of the GDP?
(a) 1.00
(b) 1.50
(c) 2.00
(d) 2.5
Ans: (d)

• On 15th March, 2017, The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the National Health Policy, 2017 (NHP, 2017).
• The Policy aims at achieving universal health coverage and delivering quality health care services to all at affordable cost.
• The main objective of the National Health Policy 2017 is to achieve the highest possible level of good health and well-being, through a preventive and promotive health care orientation.
• The new Policy also aims to achieve universal access to good quality health care services without anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence.
• In order to provide access and financial protection at secondary and tertiary care levels, the policy proposes free drugs, free diagnostics and free emergency care services in all public hospitals.
• The roadmap of this new policy is predicated on public spending and provisioning of a public healthcare system that is comprehensive, integrated and accessible to all.
• The NHP, 2017 advocates a positive and proactive engagement with the private sector and envisages private sector collaboration for strategic purchasing, capacity building, skill development programmes, awareness generation etc.
• The policy proposes raising public health expenditure to 2.5% of the GDP in a time bound manner from current 1.04 percent.
• The policy aspires to provide at the district level most of the secondary care which is currently provided at a medical college hospital.
• The Policy has also assigned specific quantitative targets aimed at reduction of disease prevalence/incidence under 3 broad components viz.(a)health status and programme impact, (b) health system performance and (c) health systems strengthening, aligned to the policy objectives. Some key targets that the policy seeks to achieve are –
  1.Life Expectancy and healthy life
  a. Increase Life Expectancy at birth from 67.5 to 70 by 2025.
  b. Establish regular tracking of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) Index as a measure of burden of disease and its trends by major categories by 2022.
  c. Reduction of TFR to 2.1 at national and sub-national level by 2025.
  2.Mortality by Age and/ or cause
  a. Reduce Under Five Mortality to 23 by 2025 and MMR from current levels to 100 by 2020.
  b. Reduce infant mortality rate to 28 by 2019.
  c. Reduce neo-natal mortality to 16 and still birth rate to “single digit” by 2025.
  3.Reduction of disease prevalence/ incidence
  a. Achieve global target of 2020 which is also termed as target of 90:90:90, for HIV/AIDS i. e,- 90% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, – 90% of all people diagnosed with HIV infection receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.
  b. Achieve and maintain elimination status of Leprosy by 2018, Kala-Azar by 2017 and Lymphatic Filariasis in endemic pockets by 2017.
  c. To achieve and maintain a cure rate of >85% in new sputum positive patients for TB and reduce incidence of new cases, to reach elimination status by 2025.
  d. To reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.25/ 1000 by 2025 and disease burden by one third from current levels.
  e. To reduce premature mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases by 25% by 2025.

Reference:
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=159327
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=159376