Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu today emphasised the need to rebuild, restructure and reinvent the healthcare systems for the post-pandemic era of the 21st century.
He wanted all stakeholders–public, private and people– to come together in the task of strengthening India’s health infrastructure and ensuring the well-being of the people.
Addressing the 8th Annual Summit of the NATHEALTH through a pre-recorded video message, the Vice President noted that over the course of the pandemic, everyone has learnt many valuable lessons related to the challenges in the healthcare system and called for using this experience towards re-imagining a resilient healthcare system for a new phase in the post-COVID era.
Recognising that the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the healthcare systems the world over, he said that India, as a team, fought back admirably and showed great resilience in the face of adversity.
“This is reflected in the indigenous development of vaccines and administration of over 180 crore doses, which is a stupendous achievement and a global benchmark,” he added. He Naidu also praised the commitment and sacrifices of Indian healthcare workers- both in the public and private sectors.
Stressing the pressing need to increase public expenditure in health, Naidu wanted this increase in spending to go hand-in-hand with capacity building, such as increasing the doctor-to-population ratio, as per WHO standards.
Calling for urgently bridging the spatial disparity in healthcare facilities between the urban and rural areas, Naidu stressed the need for an immediate impetus to primary healthcare in rural India.
Talking about the need to bring down high out-of-pocket expenditure on health in India, he appreciated various government programmes in this regard, including Ayushman Bharat, Jan Aushadhi Kendras and the proposal to increase the number of district hospitals, among others.