India to focus on disease elimination, human resources, infrastructure in 2025
NEW DELHI: India implemented a series of necessary healthcare policies in 2024 including the elimination of Trachoma, a bacterial infection leading to blindness causing four per cent of all blindness cases in the country, and the launch of a new insurance scheme for senior citizens above the age of 70. The policies are expected to yield results in 2025.
The next big question for 2025 is whether India will be able to meet the target of eliminating TB, five years ahead of the international target.
Not only that, the focus will be on developing healthcare infrastructure and new technologies, which is essential for ensuring that advancements are accessible and suited to India's growing and diverse population.
These concerted efforts aim to establish a robust healthcare framework that guarantees equitable access to essential health services for all citizens, fostering a healthier and more prosperous nation.
March 2025 will mark the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there has been a notable decline in cases, it is still being reported in India, just like in some European countries. The focus in the coming year would be tackling the ever-growing threat of non-communicable diseases like heart attacks, stroke, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. Fighting diseases like tuberculosis (TB), malaria, lymphatic filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, and kala-azar will be a top priority.
India is progressing in reducing these diseases, but efforts to eliminate them will increase in the coming year to meet the elimination goals.
"With 25% of the world's TB burden, India faces significant challenges in eliminating this disease. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted existing TB control programs. Overcrowding in dwellings with limited air circulation aggravates the spread while rising drug resistance makes it difficult to get rid of," Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Cochin, told this paper.
According to Union Health Ministry officials, India is dedicated towards tuberculosis elimination by 2025. "What is encouraging is that the Global TB Report 2024 has shown that the incidence rate of TB in India has shown a 17.7% decline from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 195 per 100,000 population in 2023."
Also, TB deaths were reduced by 21.4%, from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 22 per lakh population in 2023. Access to TB treatment and coverage in India increased by 32% in the last eight years from 53% in 2015 to 85% in 2023, they said.
With the TB Mukt Bharat - a 100-day intensified campaign - India will cover 347 selected high-priority districts across 33 states/Union Territories that reported a high death rate, low testing, and high incidence of TB. The scheme, which was launched on December 7, will conclude in March 2025.
The major challenge, however, is a shortage of drugs for TB patients. Though the government has said they have sufficient storage, former AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria said this delay is not good for TB patients as it can lead to the emergence of resistance.
According to Dr Jayadevan, vector control programs need to be ramped up to tackle the rising cases of dengue, which saw nearly two lakh cases and 160 deaths this year, as well as malaria.
Bringing much cheer to combating dengue, India has started dengue vaccine trials and hopefully will be able to launch them in the coming year. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), US) developed this recombinant vaccine, and the technology has been transferred to several companies worldwide.
While the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved 19 new drugs in 2024, including cancer drugs, many new drugs will enter Indian markets in 2025, including global giant Eli Lilly's diabetes and obesity treatment drug.
In 2025, the government aims to further expand the country's health infrastructure. From new AIIMS-like institutes to the upgrade of the existing health centres and the establishment of critical care hospital blocks to control the spread of infectious diseases, these initiatives will reassure the public of the government's commitment to healthcare.
So far, there are 22 new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and 75 projects to upgrade existing government medical colleges/institutions. Of the 22 AIIMS, 18 are functional, and the remaining four are at various stages of operationalization. Union health ministry officials said 69 of the 75 projects have been completed.
Further, for setting up critical care hospital blocks in 12 central hospitals, the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) scheme aims to establish 150 bedded Critical Care Hospital Blocks (CCHB) at a total cost of Rs. 2220 crores.
A significant highlight of 2024 was the extension of the government's premier health insurance initiative, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, recognized as the largest globally, to all seniors aged 70 and above. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 29, this program is set to benefit approximately 4.5 crore families, amounting to around six crore individuals.
So far, 32,45,705 people have been enrolled under the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card, a separate insurance card for elderly citizens. Officials added that this insurance scheme will cover more senior citizens in the coming year.
2025 will also see the government's push to increase medical colleges, which has already seen an increase of 101.5% in medical colleges from 387 in 2013-14 to 780 in 2024-25. While there are 431 government medical colleges, 349 are private. Under the central-sponsored scheme, 157 medical colleges have been approved. While 131 are functional, the rest, many of which are coming up in aspirational districts, which will address the inequity in medical education, will be completed by this year and will become functional in a few years.
According to the Healthcare Federation of India (NATHEALTH), a body representing private healthcare providers, all the proposed initiatives for 2025 are possible if the government increases its budgetary allocation for health substantially, and eventually reach 2.5% of GDP in line with the government’s own stated intent to spend 2.5% of GDP on healthcare by 2025.