A strategic layout for WHO by Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) to work with the Central government to achieve the health sector goal. With the motive of improving the health of its population and bringing in transformative changes in the health sector. The WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy 2019-2023 has regarded accelerating the Ayushman Bharat program as the top strategic priority.

(People Also Like To Read: Pneumothorax : Symptoms, Causes and Treatment)

In reference to the strategy document released on Wednesday, universal health care (UHC) will be the top priority with a focus of equal excess and covering every aspect of health service delivery, from the implementation of Ayushman Bharat health sector reforms to aim at expanding access to quality primary health care services.

This will be including financial protection for those who require hospital care, eliminating neglected tropical diseases, controlling vaccine-preventable and vector-borne diseases, and will ensure that the digital health intervention is appropriately used to deliver health care.

In the past two decades, notable significant improvements in health have been achieved i.e., sharp reductions in child and maternal mortality, the elimination of several infectious diseases (polio, maternal and neonatal tetanus, yaws), a dramatic decline in HIV/AIDS incidence, and a doubling of the percentage of births taking place in health facilities in 10 years.

According to the Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, the four key areas for strategic cooperation of WHO with the country are; to accelerate UHC progress, to promote health and wellness by addressing determinants of health, to better protect the population against health emergencies, and to enhance India’s global leadership in health.

In Henk Bekedam’s words, WHO Representative to India, “The implementation of this CCS will build on the remarkable successes in public health that India has demonstrated to the world. It’s a great opportunity to showcase India as a model to the world in initiatives such as digital health, access to quality medicines and medical products, comprehensive hepatitis control program and Ayushman Bharat.”

The WHO document, the CCS “not only builds upon the work that WHO has been carrying out in the last several years, but also expands its support in certain areas to meet new or growing health issues, such as air pollution, increasing suicide rates, and the challenge of making UHC a reality”.

(You Might Also Like To Read: Know How Weight loss and Prevention of Chronic Disease Happen Together!)