Achieving Universal Health Coverage

Universalising access to healthcare is one sustainable development goal that India is committed to providing in all rural and urban areas.

- Dr Soumitro Chakraborty

The World Health Organisation was founded on the principle that every individual should be able to realise their right to the highest level of health. Therefore providing the facility of health to every individual became its guiding mantra for more than seven decades now. Keeping this trend alive, this year, the WHO is calling countries in moving towards the Universal Health coverage. Universalising access to healthcare is one sustainable development goal that India is committed to providing in all rural and urban areas.

Highlighting the importance of health mechanism in India, the union budget has shown serious commitments on decreasing the maternal mortality rate and the measures to tackle them. India has made extensive efforts to reduce the maternal mortality rate and to increase access to reproductive health. In some regions, it has achieved much progress. Implementation of schemes like Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram is targeted to provide benefit to more than 12 million pregnant women who access Government health facilities for their delivery.

Moreover, it also motivated those who still choose to deliver at their homes to opt for institutional deliveries. However, the quality of antenatal care services that have been provided to the pregnant women has been deplorable. According to a study conducted by BMJ journal in Chattisgarh, one of the poorest state in India, the coverage of antenatal care services under the JSSK scheme, was quite high with 84% of the women having attended at least three antenatal care visits. However, the quality of antenatal care services was better in the non-tribal district compared to the two tribal districts.