Yojana

Health: Priority in National Development Goals

The policy directions of the “Health for All” declaration became the stated policy of Government of India with the adoption of the National Health Policy Statement of1983. India’s health sector has always posed major challenges to policy makers, with increased budgetary spending not always yielding commensurate returns in terms of a more healthy nation. And, it is an accepted fact by experts that there is a strong relationship between economic growth and better health – it being a two way relationship. A population with major health problems cannot become part of the Nation's growth process. On the other hand, a nation beset by health problems can have a retarding effect on the country’s development goals. Both the Millennium Development Goals and later the new set of Sustainable Development Goals had appreciated this fact and integrated Health Goals into their agenda. India, as a signatory to the SDGs needs now to gear up its policies and work out its health priorities to achieve those targets. Equally importantly, it needs to work towards greater cohesiveness in integrating its policies and actions in the health sector to its developmental programmes in other sectors. Our policy makers had appreciated this fact and launched several health programmes which have been immensely successful over the years. There has been a successful reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates, our immunization programmes, specially for pulse polio have been lauded the world over and we have almost won the war against small pox, once a deadly killer disease. Our medical system can compete globally with the best in the world.

Our policy makers had appreciated this fact and launched several health programmes which have been immensely successful over the years. There has been a successful reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates, our immunization programmes, specially for pulse polio have been lauded the world over and we have almost won the war against small pox, once a deadly killer disease. Our medical system can compete globally with the best in the world.

Both the Millennium Development Goals and later the new set of Sustainable Development Goals had appreciated this fact and integrated Health Goals into their agenda. India, as a signatory to the SDGs needs now to gear up its policies and work out its health priorities to achieve those targets. Equally importantly, it needs to work towards greater cohesiveness in integrating its policies and actions in the health sector to its developmental programmes in other sectors. Our policy makers had appreciated this fact and launched several health programmes which have been immensely successful over the years. There has been a successful reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates, our immunization programmes, specially for pulse polio have been lauded the world over and we have almost won the war against small pox, once a deadly killer disease. Our medical system can compete globally with the best in the world.