INDIA REJECTS LANCET REPORT, AFFIRMS RECORD HIGH HEALTHCARE SPENDING

As per National Health Accounts estimates for 2019-20, the key achievements in the health sector are that the total health expenditure was Rs 4,83,259 crore in 2014-15, which in 2019-20 has risen to Rs 6,55,822 crore.

After a Lancet report that asserted that the Indian government spends just 1.2 percent of GDP on healthcare and noted that it was among the lowest among G20 countries, sources in the government said that spending is at an all-time high and outof-pocket expenditure as a percentage of the total health expenditure has decreased.

"As per the National Health Policy, 2017, public investment in health is envisioned to reach 2.5% of GDP by 2025. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has taken up with states to prioritize allocation to the health sector and enhance their health budgets by at least 10 percent every year to reach the goal as envisaged," one of the sources said.

The budget estimates of the Department of Health and Family Welfare have reached Rs 86,175 crore in 2023-24 from Rs 36,948 crore in 2014-15, thereby showing an overall increase of 133.23 percent during the period, they said.

According to the report by the medical journal Lancet, government spending on health has fallen and now hovers around an "abysmal" 1.2 percent of gross domestic product, out-of-pocket expenditure on health care remains extremely high, and flagship initiatives on primary health care and universal health coverage have so far "failed" to deliver services to people most in need.