WHO applauds extension of healthcare coverage to ASHA, anganwadi workers and helpers

Praise for moves to upgrade hospital infrastructure, increase the number of medical colleges, expand vaccine programme and platform; medical device industry says Budget falls short, given rising import bills

Given that Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, anganwadi workers, and helpers are at the forefront of health care delivery at the grassroots level, the World Health Organization (WHO) has applauded February 1 Union Budget announcement on extending healthcare coverage to them under Ayushman Bharat.

Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO’s representative in India, said that various other health-related initiatives announced in the Budget – upgrading existing hospital infrastructure to increase medical colleges, harmonisation of maternal and child care implementation, introduction of a vaccination against human papillomavirus to prevent cervical cancer, and the expansion of the U-WIN platform to manage and intensify immunisation — will further strengthen systems and healthcare services across the country.

“WHO welcomes investments in these areas and will continue to support the Government of India in achieving health for all and meeting its disease elimination goals, ” he added. 

Increasing medical colleges

Girdhar J. Gyani, founder director of the Association of Healthcare Providers (India) said that fortifying healthcare infrastructure by establishing more medical colleges and leveraging existing hospital facilities was a welcome move.

The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD), on the other hand, said that it was awaiting the Budget fine print to check whether the Department of Pharmaceuticals’ recommendations with regard to the sector have been addressed. The Budget has seemingly fallen short of expectations for addressing the rising import graph of medical devices and soaring import bills worth over ₹63,200 crore ($8 billion), said AiMeD forum coordinator Rajiv Nath.

FICCI president Anish Shah said that the Interim Budget was a clear and outcome-based continuum towards Viksit Bharat, referring to the government’s ambition to transform India into a developed country by 2047. “It brings together growth, climate, and social empowerment, while maintaining a careful balance between current investment rate and fiscal discipline,” he said.