News & Updates

Vol 4 

In this first issue of The Byte for 2020, we bring to you a mix of news from the health sector. The most significant event was, of course, the Union Budget and we have a short analysis of what it holds for the sector. 

As the learning partner for the USAID/India Health Office, we had a busy few months. We supported them to conduct a high-level summit on Antimicrobial Resistance on January 13, 2020.  This brought together several government and intergovernmental agencies who are working on Antimicrobial Resistance. We also worked together in convening the first Partners Meeting of 2020 and we bring to you some insights from experts who spoke at the USAID/India Health Office Partners’ Meeting in New Delhi on February 4, 2020.

On December 7, 2019, USAID India hosted a multi-stakeholder meeting on Air Pollution. This meeting demonstrated the need for a high-level coordinated effort to view and mitigate the issue. Discussions focused on the need for action and taking forward the results of existing research on the causes and effects of air pollution.

Hope you enjoy reading this edition of The Byte!

My Best, 

Nitya Jacob
Chief of Party @Learning4impact
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The Union Budget 2020-21 has allotted Rs 69,234 crore for the health sector.  This corresponds to 2.3% of the total budget, and just 0.31% of the GDP. It is far lower than the target of 2.5% of the GDP for health. While the health budget is a 10% increase over last year, after accounting for an inflation rate of 7.5% during the year, the increase in real terms is a negligible 2.5%.

The National Health Mission (NHM) is the single biggest component of the health budget and has been allotted Rs 34,114 crore. This also includes setting up health and wellness centres. It is 3% higher than the previous year. While 80% will be transferred to states, 20% will be performance-linked payments.

Over the past several years, the Union Budgets have shifted the government’s emphasis towards purchasing healthcare from provisioning. The National Health Policy, 2017 coined the term ‘strategic purchasing’ to describe a gradual conversion of the government’s role from a provider to a purchaser of healthcare services. The budgetary provision for the government’s main vehicle for strategic purchasing, Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) was Rs 6,400 crore, unchanged from the year before. However, The expansion of Ayushman Bharat scheme will see setting up more hospitals in Tier-II, Tier-III cities under the PPP model. The moves towards strategic purchasing is also reflected in the massive 50% increase to Rs 6,400 crore in the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) to enhance the tertiary healthcare capacity in clinical care, medical education and research in underserved areas.

The summit was held to raise awareness about the challenges of Antimicrobial Resistance and energize collaboration between the health, agriculture and animal husbandry, and environment sectors. The summit was attended by representatives from multiple ministries and government bodies, UN agencies, research institutions, and implementation partners.

AMR is a complex public health challenge with root causes ranging from health, food safety, agriculture to environment and trade. Thus, controlling and containing AMR requires coordinated action across diverse sectors and disciplines, with a broad range of stakeholders. By bringing together diverse stakeholders in a concerted effort to galvanize multi-sectoral action, the Summit embodied the spirit of the One World, One Health, One Fight approach that the Government of India has committed to advancing.

In December 2019, India’s Central TB Division released its framework for a Gender-responsive approach to TB, with the dual objectives of making India’s TB response more gender-sensitive as well as gender-specific. This framework presents the evidence around the impact of gender on TB, provides guidance on integrating a gender-sensitive approach into the National TB Elimination Program, and identifies pathways for implementation. The framework was developed with support from USAID/India Health Office partner REACH under the TB Call to Action project.

On December 7, 2019, USAID/India brought together more than 100 people from the U.S. Government, the Government of India, development professionals, scientists, the private sector, and civil society to explore concrete steps to address air pollution and its health impacts. Called Opportunities for Cleaner Air and Better Health In India, the meeting explored the complexities of the issue. Participants presented possible solutions by including experts from the health, environment, energy and disaster risk management fields. It provided an opportunity for strengthened collaboration between U.S. and Indian experts, and gave participants a forum to discuss challenges, propose solutions, and devise ways to put solutions into action.

Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare spoke of the need for action, noting how evidence exists in India and across the globe on the health effects of air pollution. Joint Secretary Nidhi Khare of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change spoke of the importance of addressing several sectors to mitigate pollution, including transportation, industry, biomass burning, dust, power sector and the need for green practices.

The annual portfolio narrative showcases the achievements of USAID/India’s Health Office in the year 2018-19 through its investments and summarizes the information gathered through the survey with the implementing partners on the program coverage, partnerships (both government and private sector partners), and innovations (i.e. models, tools, technologies etc.) that is intended to inform the US congress, investors, government partners and implementing partners of USAID/India.

Building the narrative of how the USAID/India HO has supported India’s journey to self-reliance (J2SR) and advancing development goals through private sector engagement were two key themes at a recent meeting of USAID/India Health Office partners’ meeting held on February 4, 2020.

Alliances are essential to advance health coverage. The ACCELERATE project of Johns Hopkins University harnesses a social media platform called “Yes for Me” where young people can interact virtually, get counselled and tested for HIV/AIDS at the private labs the project.

Further, SHOPS+ has initiated a condom alliance with 25 condom manufacturers. They also launched a chatbot called “Hello Jubi” that provides sexual and reproductive health advice in an interactive manner.

John Snow India has identified a strategic set of private partners. Becton Dickinson is ensuring linkages between the private and government sectors through the partnership called STRIDES against MDR-TB.

Seven expert-led discussions were held on subjects like use of artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain to address health issues, the challenges of tracking and treating migrants, mental health and innovative finance solutions including the strategic purchase of healthcare at the meeting, sharing key insights and learnings.

64th Annual National Conference of Indian Public Health Association (IPHACON 2020)
New Delhi | 29 Feb - 2 Mar

A conference themed on Promoting Public Health Leadership for Universal Health Coverage in India, with participation from leading public health specialists (doctors, epidemiologists, sociologists, managers and other public health experts) from across the nation.