National Health Policy

INTRODUCTION
Health -Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity.
National- National is used to describe something that belongs to or is typical of a particular
country or nation.
POLICY- Policy is a system, which provides the logical framework and rationality of decision
making for the achievements of intended objectives.
HEALTH POLICY -Health policy of a Nation is its strategy for controlling and optimizing the
social uses of its health knowledge and health resources.
Healthcare policies play a critical role in shaping the healthcare landscape of a country,
influencing access to healthcare, its quality, and equity. Healthcare policies are the plans,
decisions, and actions taken to achieve healthcare goals for everyone. India has implemented
several key health care policies over the years to address the diverse healthcare needs of its large
and diverse population.
NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY 1983

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, evolved a National Health Policy in 1983. The policy lays stress
on preventive, promotive, public health, and rehabilitation aspects of healthcare. The policy stresses the need of
establishing comprehensive primary health care services to reach the population in the remote area of the country. India
had its first national health policy in 1983 i.e. 36 years after independence.

Objectives of national health policy 1983

 Primary objective was to attain the goal of health for all by 2000AD, by establishing an
effective and efficient heath care system which is accessible to all the citizens especially
vulnerable groups like women, children and under privileged.
 Intermediation through ‘Health volunteers’ having appropriate knowledge, simple skills and requisite technologies

Elements of national health policy 1983

 Creation of greater awareness of health problems and means to solve problems
 Supply of safe drinking water and basic sanitation using technologies that people can
afford
 To reduce the imbalance in health services by concentrating more on the rural health
infrastructure
 Establishing health management information system to support health planning and health
programme
 Provision of legislative support to health promotion and protection
 Concerned actions to combat wide spread malnutrition
 Research is alternative method of health care delivery and low cost technologies
 Co-ordination of different system of medicine
 National health policy 1983 targets
 Reduction in infant mortality rate from 125 in1983 to below 60 by 2000AD
 To raise the life expectancy at birth from 52.6 in 1983 to 64 by 2000AD
 To reduce crude birth rate from around 35 in 1983 to 21 by 2000AD
 To reduce the death rate from 14 in1983 to 9 by 2000AD
 To achieve a net reproductive rate by 1 by 2000AD
 To provide potable water to the entire rural population by 2000AD
Reasons of failure of 1983 national health policy
 Insufficient political commitment to implementation on HEALTH FOR ALL
 Failure to achieve equity in access to all primary health care elements
 Unbalanced distribution of and weak support for human resources
 Widespread inadequacy of health promotion activities
 Weak health information system and no baseline data
 Pollution, poor food safety and lack of water supply and sanitation
 The continuing low status of women.

 Slow socio-economic development.

 Inappropriate use of and allocation of resources, high-cost technology.

 Natural and man-made disasters.

National health policy 2002

A revised health policy for achieving better health care and unmet goals has been brought out by government of India-
National Health Policy 2002. According to this revised policy, government and health professionals are obligated to render
good health care to the society. Optimizing the use of health service to a large group rather than a small group is a
foreseen event by the NHP 2002.

Aim of national health policy 2002

This policy aims to provide acceptable standard of good health amongst the general population of the country

Objectives of national health policy 2002

 Achieving an acceptable standard of good health of Indian population
 Decentralizing public health system by upgrading infrastructure in existing institutions
 Ensuring a more equitable access to health services across the social and geographical
expanse of india
 Enhancing the contribution of private sector in providing health services for people who
can afford to pay
 Emphasizing rational use of drugs
  Increasing access to tried system of traditional medicine

Goals of national health policy -2002

 2003 –Enactment of legislation for regulating minimum standard in clinical
establishment / medical institution
 2005-
Eradication of polio and yaws
Elimination of leprosy
Increase state sector health spending from 5.5% to 7% of the budget
Establishment of an integrated system of surveillance , national health accounts and health
statistics
1% of the total budget for medical research
Decentralization of implementation of pubic health program
 2007-
Achieve zero level growth of HIV/AIDS
 2010-
Elimination of Kala- Azar
Reduction of mortality by 50% on account of tuberculosis , malaria , other vector and
water borne disease
Reduce prevalence of blindness to 0.5%
Reduction of IMR to 30/1000 live births and MMR to 100/lakh live births
Increase utilization of pubic health facilities from current level of <20% to > 75%
increase health expenditure by government from the existing 0,9%to 2.0% of GDP
Increase share of central grants to constitute at least 25% of total health spending
Further increase of state sector health spending from 7%to 8%
2% of the total health budget for medical research
 2015-Elimination of lymphatic filariasis
NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY 2017

India had adopted its first National Health Policy (NHP) in 1983, followed by the second National Health Policy in 2002.
Both have served well in guiding the approach for the health sector in the Five-Year Plans. The National Health Policy 2017
has been formulated after a gap of 15 years, to address the current and emerging challenges necessitated by the changing
socio-economic landscapes since the last National Health Policy was framed in 2002.

Goal
Attainment of highest possible level of health and well being for all at all age groups. through a preventive and promotive
health care orientation in all developmental policies, and universal access to good quality health care services without
anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence.

four significant goals:

Changing health priorities

This policy aims to tackle the increasing non-communicable and infectious diseases in India.

Growth of the health care industry

National Health Policy plans to strengthen the health care industry by introducing newer and more advanced
technologies.

Lower the expenditure

This policy also aims to reduce medical expenses and other health-related costs. They aim to provide superior
services to poor and backward communities.

Economic growth

It aims to enhance fiscal capacity by boosting economic growth.

Key targets:

 Increase Life Expectancy at birth from 67.5 to 70 by 2025.

 Reduce Infant Mortality rate to 28 by 2019.

 To reduce premature mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases by 25 per
cent by 2025.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY, 2017

1. Health Card linked to health facilities- Recommends linking the health card to primary care facility for a defined
package of services anywhere in the country.
2. Patient Centric Approach- Recommends the setting up of a separate, empowered medical tribunal for speedy
resolution to address disputes/ complaints regarding standards of care, prices of services, negligence and unfair
practices. Standard Regulatory Framework for laboratories and imaging centers, specialized emerging services,
etc
3. Micronutrient Deficiency- Focuses on reducing micronutrient malnourishment
4. Quality of Care- Public hospitals and facilities would undergo periodic measurements and certification of level of
quality. Focus on Standard Regulatory Framework to eliminate risks of inappropriate care by maintaining
adequate standards of diagnosis and treatment.
5. Make in India Initiative- Advocates the need to incentivize local manufacturing to provide customized indigenous
products for Indian population in the long run.
6. Application of Digital Health- Advocates extensive deployment of digital tools for improving the efficiency and
outcome of the healthcare system and aims at an integrated health information system which serves the needs of
all stake-holders and improves efficiency, transparency, and citizen experience.
7. Integrated approach- Supports an integrated approach where screening for the most prevalent Non
Communicable Diseases (NCDs) with secondary prevention would make a significant impact on reduction of
morbidity and preventable mortality.
8. Mainstreaming and integration of AYUSH-Focuses on mainstreaming and integration of AYUSH into healthcare
delivery through co-location, cross referrals, and integration with primary healthcare protocol.