Switzerland hosts 71st World Health Assembly (WHA-2018)

The 71st World Health Assembly (WHA-2018) has started in Geneva, Switzerland on May 21. In it, Union Health Minister J P Nadda is leading the Indian Delegation. In the plenary meeting of WHA, Mr. Nadda spoke on the theme “Health for All: Commit To Universal Health Coverage”. He stated that the Indian government has recently launched the Ayushman Bharat programme, which rests on the twin pillars of health and well-ness centres, and the National Health Protection Mission for 100 million families covering 500 million individuals. The programme will approximately cover 40% of the India’s population, who will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 500,000 per year. He further said that in line with India’s ambitious plan to end TB by 2025, the Government of India (GoI) has started the implementation of a national strategic plan and allocated 550 million dollars. The 6-day event is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. The main functions of the WHA are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.