National Health Policy 2017

The Central Government’s National Health Policy aims to improve India’s health care system. This project shapes numerous aspects of the health sector, such as disease prevention, cross-sectoral health promotion, health investment, human resource development, technological breakthroughs, and more.

The National Health Policy, which went into effect in 2017, replaced a policy that had been in force since 2002.

What is National Health Policy?

The Central Government launched the National Health Policy in 2017 to replace the previous health policy. This policy establishes four major objectives:

Priorities in healthcare are shifting. This policy intends to combat India’s rising rates of non-communicable and infectious diseases. The healthcare industry is expanding. By implementing newer and more advanced technology, the National Health Policy intends to boost the healthcare system.

Reduce your spending – This approach also intends to save money on medical bills and other health-related expenses. They want to provide better services to the underprivileged and underserved.

Growth of the economy – Its goal is to increase budgetary capacity through increased economic growth.

Improved Health System

The following are the aims of the health system:

• Increase the average birth age from 67.5 to 70 years by 2025
• By 2022, establish a regular tracking system for the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) Index as a measure of illness burden and trends by major categories
• TFR should be reduced to 2.1 at the national and sub-national levels by 2025
• Reduce under-five mortality to 23 by 2025 and MMR to 100 by 2020, from present levels
• By 2019, the infant mortality rate will be reduced to 28 percent
• By 2025, reduce infant mortality to 16 percent and the stillbirth rate to “single digits”
• Achieve the global target of 90:90:90 for HIV/AIDS by 2020, i.e., 90 percent of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90 percent of patients diagnosed with HIV undergo long-term antiretroviral therapy, and 90 percent of people who receive antiretroviral therapy achieve viral suppression
• Leprosy elimination and maintenance by 2018, Kala-Azar elimination by 2017, and Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination in endemic pockets by 2017
• To eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, attain and maintain a cure rate of >85% in new sputum-positive patients and minimise the incidence of new cases
• Lower the prevalence of blindness to 0.25 per 1000 people by 2025, and the illness burden to one-third of what it is now 
• Cut premature mortality from cardiovascular illnesses, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disorders by 25% by 2025.

Improve Health System Performance 

• By 2025, increase the use of public health facilities by 50% over present levels
• By 2025, more than 90% of newborns will be fully immunised by the age of one year
• By 2020, the prevalence of current tobacco usage will have decreased by 15%, and by 2025, it will have decreased by 30%
•  By 2025, the prevalence of stunting in children under the age of five will have decreased by 40%
• By 2020, everyone will have access to safe drinking water and sanitation (Swachh Bharat Mission)
• By 2020, the number of occupational injuries among agricultural employees will be cut in half from current levels of 334 per lakh.

National Health Mission

This mission aims to provide universal health care, meet IMR, MMR, and TFR targets, and maintain infrastructure, among other things.

The following are the program’s main components:

• Reproductive, maternal, infant, child, and adolescent health care is referred to as RMNCH A services. Janani Suraksha Yojana, a program for teenagers aimed at tackling the issue of anaemia among adolescent girls and boys, is one example
• Communicable Diseases: The National Health Policy 2017 recognizes the interdependence between communicable disease control initiatives and the strengthening of the public health system. Various programs such as the National Aids Control Program, the National Leprosy Eradication Program, the Revised Tuberculosis Control Program, and the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Program are among them
• Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs): The 2017 National Health Policy recognises the need to slow and reverse the rise in chronic illness incidence. AYUSH is involved in a variety of programs to address these issues; for example, Mission Madhumeha through Ayurveda is an example of an attempt to address the issue of diabetes among people.
• Rural and urban health systems need to be improved
• Universal Immunisation Programme: Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis, Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE), and Rotavirus diarrhoea will be provided free of charge to all children across the country. courtesy of Mission Dhanush Indra
• Mental Health: a new mental health policy is being implemented

What are the National Health Policy’s Key Principles?

The National Health Policy 2017’s key principles are as follows

Ethics and Professionalism

Integrity, the highest professional standards, and ethics are all part of the National Health Policy. It incorporates these activities into healthcare delivery services while retaining transparency and a long-term outlook.

Equity

The goal of this strategy is to minimise unfairness and disparity based on caste, gender, disability, poverty, and other types of social exclusion. This involves providing financial assistance to patients who are impoverished or needy.

Affordability

The goal of the strategy is to make health care and medicine more inexpensive. It aims to eliminate social, economic, and existing health disparities.

Conclusion

Health is essential for ensuring people’s rights and supporting social justice. India, if it is healthy and robust, would be able to reap the benefits of the future globe. Developments in the health sector improve human resources while also providing new revenue and employment opportunities.