Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said the Central government is ensuring that everyone gets access to health facilities in an equal manner without any distinction between rich and poor.

To achieve this objective, he said the government has worked with policies and various schemes due to which India has created a health model that gives meaning to the spirit of “Sarva jan hitay, sarva jan sukhaay’’ (for the welfare of all, for the happiness of all).

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream is to create a healthy India, a developed India, in which every citizen of the country should get quality health facilities and medicine on time, should become easily affordable, accessible and available.

”Health facilities should be spread in all geographical areas and have balanced availability,” Mandaviya said after virtually inaugurating a “Regional Consultative Workshop on Research Priority for Providing Accessible and Affordable Healthcare for the Northeastern States of India”.

Highlighting the works of the Centre for the development of the Northeast region, the minister said, “In the past 10 years, efforts have been made to bring it into the mainstream of the country by connecting it with all types of connectivity like health, roadways, railways, i-ways, waterways and ropeway. For the first time in the country, the North East region has started to be seen as the growth engine of India. Healthcare today has become accessible and available for this entire region.”

“In the past 10 years, institutions like Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Regional Institute of Paramedical and Nursing Sciences, Northeastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences and Assam All India Institute of Medical Sciences have been developed and 23 new medical colleges have been opened in the region. Indian Council of Medical Research has also developed various health facilities in the region,” Mandaviya said.

Informing that the government was working on essential health technology on the lines of essential medicine, the minister said, “These efforts will make health technologies available, accessible, affordable and equitable for all people in the coming times.”