Health Minister launches WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023

Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the ‘WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023: A Time of Transition’ in New Delhi on October 9, 2019.  

The Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) aims to provide WHO with a strategic roadmap to plan its work with India to achieve its health sector goals. It aims to bring about a transformative change in the health sector by improving the health of the people in the focus country.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Health Minister stated that India is currently witnessing productive transformation in its health sector.

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WHO has identified the following four areas for strategic cooperation with India:

1. To accelerate progress on UHC

2. To promote health and wellness by addressing health determinants

3. To protect the population better against health emergencies

4. To enhance India’s global leadership in health.

India has seen vast advances in its health sector. The Union Government for the past few years has been stressing on the need to adopt a healthy lifestyle and making health a priority in everyday life. The Government also launched several initiatives to support the same including the Fit India movement, Poshan Abhiyaan and the Eat Right India movement.

Besides this, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan stated that focus needs to be given to other crucial health areas including food safety, environmental and occupational health, road accidents and injuries. The Health Minister stated that there is a need to institute a mechanism where every ministry has a health department.

Background

WHO’s India Country Cooperation Strategy is one of the first to be fully aligned with the WHO’s newly adopted general programme of work, targets and SDG goals.

The cooperation strategy not only captures the work of the UN Sustainable Development Framework for 2018–2022, but it also outlines how WHO can support the Union Health Ministry to drive impact at the country level.

The strategy document builds on other key strategic policy documents including India’s National Health Policy 2017 and Ayushman Bharat mission.

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