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  India   National health policy likely to get GoM nod

National health policy likely to get GoM nod

Published : Oct 8, 2016, 7:07 am IST
Updated : Oct 8, 2016, 7:07 am IST

The draft on National Health Policy, 2015, which proposed making health a fundamental right, is likely to get through soon.

The draft on National Health Policy, 2015, which proposed making health a fundamental right, is likely to get through soon. The Group of Ministers (GoM) who deliberated upon the proposed policy on Thursday seemed satisfied and has not indicated any major changes.

Sources said that in the presentation given to the GoM on the proposed policy, the GoM did not suggest major changes and “by and large” accepted the proposal, sources said. Adding that the final draft will soon be put up before the GoM before it is taken to the Cabinet.

The GoM headed by minister of external affairs (MEA), Sushma Swaraj along with the Union minister for health, minister for Ayush, defence minister, finance minister, minister for railways, minister for women and child development, was set up at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The GoM deliberated and discussed on the policy on Thursday.

The Union health ministry earlier put up the draft of the National Health Policy on their website on December 31, 2014.

The policy targeted to take the present level of public funding on health to 2.5 per cent of the GDP. The health ministry, in its proposed policy, also recommended increasing private participation, making manufacturing of devices easy for the Indian manufacturers and bringing in the state participatory approach.

“The policy states to create an environment for private sector to grow and align it with the public health,” sources added. It calls for making health a constitutional guarantee, the denial of which will be punishable. It was also proposed to create a health cess on the lines of education cess to raise resources.

Significantly, the draft on which suggestions were invited from the stakeholders then, suggested that “the states would be able to voluntarily opt for this by a resolution.

In its draft of the new National Health Policy, 2015, the Union health ministry suggested the following formulation: “The Centre shall enact, after due discussion and on the request of three or more states (using the same legal clause as used for the Clinical Establishments Bill) a National Health Rights Act, which will ensure health as a fundamental right whose denial will be justifiable”.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi