India needs extensive universal health coverage policy: Experts

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India's universal health coverage policy needs to be extensive, considering the role of the states and Centre and lower than expected performance of healthcare services, experts opined here on Saturday at a conference on healthcare.
Given the challenges of the policy making environment in the country and the government's low spending on healthcare, the sector is not performing at the level it should have been to meet the demand of quality healthcare for India's growing population, said Rakesh Kumar, joint secretary, ministry of health and family welfare.
"18 percent rural population in the country has no access to healthcare," he said at the inauguration of 'Delivering on the Promise of Universal Health Coverage in India: Policy Options and Challenges'.
According to Kumar, the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country has increased. "Seventy percent of deaths in India will be caused by non-communicable diseases by 2020."
"Today's conference is the culmination of collaboration between Jindal Global University, Harvard Global Health Initiative and the Harvard School of Public Health to examine legal, policy and regulatory issues relating to the universal health coverage in India,"said C. Raj Kumar, professor and vice chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University.
Given the challenges of the policy making environment in the country and the government's low spending on healthcare, the sector is not performing at the level it should have been to meet the demand of quality healthcare for India's growing population, said Rakesh Kumar, joint secretary, ministry of health and family welfare.
"18 percent rural population in the country has no access to healthcare," he said at the inauguration of 'Delivering on the Promise of Universal Health Coverage in India: Policy Options and Challenges'.
According to Kumar, the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country has increased. "Seventy percent of deaths in India will be caused by non-communicable diseases by 2020."
"Today's conference is the culmination of collaboration between Jindal Global University, Harvard Global Health Initiative and the Harvard School of Public Health to examine legal, policy and regulatory issues relating to the universal health coverage in India,"said C. Raj Kumar, professor and vice chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University.
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