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Funding boost for public health sector; grassroots institutions in focus
A health ministry official who did not want to be named said strengthening of government lab networks in villages will help robust surveillance.
The government will increase investments in public health and focus on grass-root health institutions, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Sunday.
The government has also decided to create a dedicated block for infectious diseases at hospitals in all districts while boosting surveillance by focusing on strengthening lab networks, according to Sitharaman. To that effect, the government will set up public health labs in villages. Focus will also be on ramping up health and wellness centres in villages and urban areas.
“The government will be increasing investments in public health to be absolutely ready for such (Covid-19-like) eventualities in future,” Sitharaman said.
In the budget for 2020-21, the government earmarked over Rs 67,484 crore for the health sector out of the total outlay of Rs 30,42,230 crore.
A health ministry official who did not want to be named said strengthening of government lab networks in villages will help robust surveillance. The step aims at quick identification of disease clusters in case of future outbreaks and effective containment measures at an early stage.
“Increasing testing capacity is the key to manage better any outbreak situation that hinges on ‘test, isolate and treat’ guidelines. This will be a big plus for the public health system,” the official said.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will contribute towards building a national platform for health-related research under one umbrella. Also, implementation of a national digital health blueprint will be expedited to make better use of technology in delivering health care services in the country, Saitharaman announced.
The health ministry has already released at least Rs 4,113 crore directly for activities to deal with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The Centre has allocated Rs 15,000 crore in the health care sector to fight pandemics.
Another significant step was providing an insurance cover of ₹50 lakh per person for health professionals under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna announced on April 23.
With focus on telemedicine, the government has rolled out e-Sanjeevani Tele-Consultation Services and is building capacity by e-training modules for health care and other workers.
“We have also taken great care in protecting our health care workers by increasing the domestic manufacturing industry for personal protection equipment and N-95 masks. We have identified some 300 domestic manufacturers who from zero kits to now are capable of producing 3lakh kits in a day,” Sitharaman said.
Experts welcomed the government’s decision.
“The announcements regarding Rs 15,000 crore allocated for Covid 19 containment and treatment...is a much needed support… Leveraging of IT services for tele-consultation will help patients with non-Covid-19 issues who were left stranded due to cessation of all non-emergency health services,” Charu Sehgal, partner and leader, Lifesciences and Healthcare, Deloitte India, said in a statement.
