Nadda promises updated healthcare strategy

New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda Thursday said the government is committed to improving healthcare policies for women, children and adolescents and will update the strategy to improve it.

"The health of women, adolescents and children is important in the government's agenda and it is not just the concern of the global community. The government is committed to improving the policies of health of women, child and adolescents. It will update the strategies," Nadda said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of Global Stakeholders' Consultation here to update the strategy for health of woman, children and adolescents -- "Every Woman, Every Child".

The two-day global consultation is being hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with the UN agencies.

Nadda stated that drawing on the lessons learned through the implementation of various targeted programmes under the National Health Mission, existing traditional areas of work have been strengthened and newer focus areas have been identified.

He said India has moved from its earlier focus on Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) to a new strategic approach, the RMNCH+A, focusing attention on all the life stages including adolescents.

"This new approach emphasises inter-linkages between each of the five pillars under RMNCH+A, and connects community and facility based services," the minister said.

He further added that India's universal immunisation programme has been expanded to introduce three new vaccines for children: those against rotavirus, rubella and polio - targeting rotavirus, the leading cause of diarrhoea and among the biggest killers of children in our country.

"To address the challenge posed by the significant inequalities across and within states, the focus has been shifted to geographical areas of greatest concern and populations that carry the highest burden of illness and mortality," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Amina Mohammed, special advisor to the UN secretary general said that while tremendous progress has been made during the last decade on several indicators of mother, child and adolescent health, much remains to be done.

"There is need for deepening and strengthening partnerships between various stakeholders for achieving the goals for a sustainable development agenda. Emerging economies have an important role to play within this framework of partnership," she said.