The health of the world depends on how well we care for the most vulnerable and India’s approach offers replicable, scalable and sustainable models, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, via videoconferencing on Tuesday.
He said India runs the world’s largest health insurance scheme— Ayushman Bharat — that covers 580 million people and provides free treatment, and added that this programme was recently extended to cover all Indians above the age of 70 years.
Emphasising that inclusion is at the core of India’s health reforms, Modi said this year’s theme of the Assembly— One World For Health— resonates with India’s vision for global health.
“When I addressed this gathering in 2023, I had spoken about One Earth, One Health. The future of a healthy world depends on inclusion, integrated vision, and collaboration,” Modi said.
“The health of the world depends on how well we care for the most vulnerable. The Global South is particularly impacted by health challenges. India’s approach offers replicable, scalable and sustainable models. We would be happy to share our learnings and best practices with the world, especially the Global South,” he said.
“It is a shared commitment to fight future pandemics with greater cooperation. While building a healthy planet, let us ensure that no one is left behind… Thousands of years ago, our sages prayed that everyone should be healthy, happy and free from disease. May this vision unite the world,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“It is a shared commitment to fight future pandemics with greater cooperation. While building a healthy planet, let us ensure that no one is left behind… Thousands of years ago, our sages prayed that everyone should be healthy, happy and free from disease. May this vision unite the world,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Highlighting the role of technology in improving health outcomes, Modi talked about India’s digital initiatives.
“We have a digital platform to track vaccination of pregnant women and children. Millions of people have a unique digital health identity. It is helping us integrate benefits, insurance, records and information. With telemedicine, nobody is too far from a doctor. Our free telemedicine service has enabled over 340 million consultations,” he said.
Reflecting on the positive impact of India’s health initiatives, he noted a significant decline in Out-of-Pocket Expenditure as a percentage of Total Health Expenditure. Simultaneously, he emphasised that Government Health Expenditure has increased considerably.
“We have a network of thousands of health and wellness centres that screen and detect diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and hypertension,” he said.
He also highlighted the role of pharmacies selling high-quality generic medicines that brings down the cost of otherwise expensive treatment significantly.
Looking ahead to the 11th International Day of Yoga in June, Modi encouraged global participation. “This year, the theme is ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’. Being from the nation which gave Yoga to the world, I invite all countries to participate,” he said.
He also congratulated the World Health Organization (WHO) and all member states on the successful negotiations of the INB (intergovernmental negotiating body) treaty.