NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday asked states to increase their healthcare spending to at least 8 per cent of their budget, with an aim to meet the goals of the National Health Policy released in 2017.This would increase the national health spending to 2.5 per cent of the GDP by 2025, the health minister said.
While inaugurating the 13th conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW), an apex advisory body to consider and recommend broad lines of policy in matters concerning health and family welfare, Vardhan said, “Health needs to become a social movement in every state and Union territory and the ‘Eat Right’ and ‘Fit India’ movements need to be taken up by States and UTs in a synergised manner, to ensure a healthy and robust India.”
The CCHFW meeting was aimed at building consensus on national health priorities — Universal Health Coverage- through Ayushman Bharat, eliminating tuberculosis and other priority agenda such as strengthening medical infrastructure.
Besides increasing health budget, the government deliberated on engaging the private sector in healthcare. Health Ministers from 13 states attended the conference.
“For augmenting the efforts of the public sector to bring in equity to increase the number of beds and hospitals to meet the global standards of health infrastructure, we need to engage the private sector as well,” said Vinod Paul, member (health), NITI Aayog.