JP Nadda Highlights Commitment to UHC and Digital Health Initiatives at WHO SEARO Meeting

The session featured prominent leaders including ministers from Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as senior officials from WHO.

Union Health Minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda emphasized India's commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through a "whole of government" and "whole of society" approach during the 77th session of the WHO Southeast Asia Region (SEARO) in New Delhi. Nadda outlined the importance of strengthening primary healthcare and essential services as part of India’s strategy to promote inclusive and sustainable healthcare.

The session featured prominent leaders including ministers from Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as senior officials from WHO.

Highlighting India's healthcare advancements, Nadda showcased the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri - Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme. Covering over 120 million families, this initiative offers an annual hospitalization benefit of USD 6,000 per family and has recently been expanded to include citizens aged 70 and above, benefiting approximately 45 million families.

Nadda addressed the growing threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), noting India’s National Programme for Prevention and Control of NCDs, which has established over 6,200 community health centers focusing on early preventive care for conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

In the field of digital health, Nadda highlighted India's leadership, citing platforms like Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, e-Sanjeevani, and the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), which support health services through advanced digital infrastructure. India’s CoWIN platform, widely recognized during the COVID-19 vaccination drive, has paved the way for UWIN, a new online platform for tracking and monitoring vaccinations under the Universal Immunization Programme.

The minister also emphasized India’s support for traditional medicine, backing the creation of a Global Traditional Medicine Centre by WHO, which aims to integrate traditional systems with modern healthcare, offering holistic solutions through Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs, India’s community Health & Wellness Centres.

Nadda concluded by endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas' (Involvement of all, Development of all, Trust of all, Efforts of all), stressing that collective global efforts are necessary to overcome health challenges.

Addressing the session, WHO SEARO Regional Director Saima Wazed reflected on the evolution of healthcare challenges since 1948 and emphasized the need to tackle modern threats like antimicrobial resistance with the wisdom of the past and 21st-century tools.

The event was attended by senior officials from the Indian Health Ministry, WHO representatives, and international dignitaries.