National Health Policy, 2017: Tangible Aims & Objectives

The National Health Policy, 2017 policy aims at attainment of the highest possible level of health and wellbeing for all at all ages. It is to be achieved 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.

National health policy provides for a target based approach for the attainment of its aims and its objectives

Life Expectancy and healthy life

• Increase Life Expectancy at birth from 67.5 to 70 by 2025.
• Establish regular tracking of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) Index as a measure of burden of disease and its trends by major categories by 2022.
• Reduction of TFR to 2.1 at national and sub-national level by 2025.

Mortality by Age and/ or cause

• Reduce under Five Mortality to 23 by 2025 and MMR from current levels to 100 by 2020.
• Reduce infant mortality rate to 28 by 2019.
• Reduce neo-natal mortality to 16 and still birth rate to “single digit” by 2025.

Reduction of disease prevalence/ incidence

• Achieve global target of 2020 which is also termed as target of 90:90:90, for HIV/AIDS,  i.e.,- 90% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, – 90% of all people diagnosed with HIV infection receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.
• Achieve and maintain elimination status of Leprosy by 2018, Kala-Azar by 2017 and Lymphatic Filariasis in endemic pockets by 2017.
• To achieve and maintain a cure rate of >85% in new sputum positive patients for TB and reduce incidence of new cases, to reach elimination status by 2025.
• To reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.25/ 1000 by 2025 and disease burden by one third from current levels.
• To reduce premature mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases by 25% by 2025.

This target based approach provides for a quantitative criterion in evaluating the attainment of goals under the policy. [PIB]