India, Sep 25 : India has reiterated its commitment to making healthcare affordable and accessible while highlighting its efforts to strengthen primary care, expand financial protection and use digital technology to reach underserved communities.
Union Health Secretary Salila Srivastava outlined India’s healthcare initiatives during two high-level global health engagements held alongside the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. The discussions focused on universal health coverage and broader global health priorities.
India’s approach, according to the health secretary, covers the full healthcare chain, from community-based primary services to secondary and tertiary treatment. The emphasis is also on reducing the financial burden faced by patients while improving access to essential services.
A major component of this strategy is the Ayushman Arogya Mandir network. The government’s official dashboard showed 1,87,142 functional Ayushman Arogya Mandirs as of September 25, including facilities operating as sub-health centres, primary health centres, urban primary health centres and other categories.
The centres are designed to provide a wider range of services than conventional primary-care facilities. Their service areas include maternal and reproductive healthcare, immunisation, chronic disease management, teleconsultation, health awareness and the distribution of medicines.
The expansion of these facilities is part of India’s effort to move healthcare closer to communities instead of relying primarily on hospitals for treatment. The model combines preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative services, according to the Health Ministry’s description of the programme.
During the UN-related discussions, India also highlighted the role of financial protection in improving access to healthcare. The government has positioned Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana as a major component of its health-assurance framework, alongside initiatives providing medicines, diagnostic services and dialysis support.
Digital health was another major area presented during the meetings. India has developed a large digital-health ecosystem involving health IDs and telemedicine services. According to information reported from the UNGA engagements, the country has created more than 900 million health IDs and recorded around 497 million e-Sanjeevani teleconsultations.
Telemedicine has become particularly important for people living in areas where specialist healthcare is not easily available. By connecting patients and healthcare providers through digital platforms, remote consultations can supplement conventional medical services and reduce the need for some patients to travel long distances.
The government has also been pursuing disease-specific programmes alongside broader healthcare expansion. At the international meetings, India highlighted its work relating to hepatitis elimination and sickle cell care, two areas requiring sustained screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
The focus on hepatitis reflects the importance of early identification and continued treatment in controlling infectious diseases. For sickle-cell disease, expanded screening and long-term care are particularly important because the condition can require continuing medical supervision throughout a patient’s life.
The discussions also placed India’s healthcare experience in the wider context of universal health coverage. Countries continue to face challenges in providing healthcare that is both accessible and financially sustainable, particularly for populations living in remote or economically disadvantaged areas.
India’s presentation comes at a time when health systems are increasingly being asked to provide more than emergency and hospital-based treatment. Preventive care, early diagnosis, chronic disease management and community level services are becoming increasingly important as countries deal with ageing populations and growing non-communicable disease burdens.
The expansion of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs is intended to address some of these requirements at the primary-care level. Services such as screening for common diseases, maternal care, immunisation and treatment of chronic conditions can help identify health problems before they require more intensive intervention.
The digital component also offers another route for extending healthcare access. Teleconsultations can connect primary-level facilities with doctors and specialists elsewhere, potentially supporting treatment decisions in locations with limited specialist availability.
However, the effectiveness of digital healthcare depends on reliable connectivity, trained personnel and people’s ability to access and use digital services. Physical healthcare infrastructure therefore remains important even as digital platforms expand.
The government’s broader health strategy combines these physical and digital systems with financial protection mechanisms. Together, they are intended to reduce barriers related to distance, availability and treatment costs.
India’s participation in the global health discussions also provides an opportunity to share experiences with other countries facing similar challenges. Universal health coverage requires sustained investment in healthcare workers, facilities, medicines, diagnostics and public-health programmes.
The Indian delegation’s message at the UNGA meetings therefore centred on strengthening health systems across multiple levels rather than relying on a single intervention. Primary healthcare, financial protection, digital services and disease specific programmes are being developed as interconnected parts of the country’s health strategy.
As countries work toward universal health coverage, India’s experience offers several areas for international discussion, including the use of large primary-care networks, technology enabled consultations and government-backed health assurance.
The latest UNGA engagements underline that improving healthcare access involves not only increasing the number of hospitals but also ensuring that people can receive preventive care, early diagnosis and essential treatment close to where they live.