The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India in collaboration with the Sankala Foundation supported by the NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is organising a national conference on `Universal Access to Healthcare: Digital Solutions’, at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 6th September 2024. The conference aims to bring together practitioners, government officials, leading experts, innovators and policy makers in the field of healthcare and digital healthcare technology to explore the way forward for universal access to affordable and quality healthcare services especially to people living in rural, remote and hilly areas.

Dr.V. K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog will inaugurate the conference and Mr Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare will deliver the keynote address. They will also chair technical sessions. Mr Bharat Lal, Secretary General, NHRC, India will give the context of convening this conference and challenges ahead. Other eminent persons participating in the conference are Dr. Rajiv Bahl, DG, ICMR; Shri S Krishnana, Secretary, MEITY, Shri C. K. Mishra, Former Secretary, Health & Family Welfare; Mr. Lav Agarwal, Ms. Debjani Ghsoh, Dr. Manohar Agnani, Ms. L S Changsan, CEO, National Health Authority, Mr. Madhukar Kumar Bhagat, Joint Secretary (E-Health), Mr Shashank N.D., Chair, Digital Health Committee (CII) and co-founder and CEO of Practo; Mr Girish Krishnamurthy, CEO and Managing Director, Tata MD and many innovators from civil society and start-ups. Domain experts from WHO, UNDP and states will also share their experiences during the conference.

The conference will have three technical sessions - `Models of Change in Healthcare’, `Future Frontiers in Digital Health’, and `Technology-enabled Universal Health Coverage.’  Besides the technical sessions, a report on `Leveraging Digital Solutions for Universal Health Coverage’ based on the research and field study carried out by the Sankala Foundation will also be released. Since government has taken several initiatives to ensure affordable and quality healthcare services to all, it is high time that all stakeholders sit together, share their experiences and find a way forward for collective action for universal access to affordable and quality healthcare services. This is crucial to ensure that no one is left out thus human rights of everyone are protected.

Universal access to healthcare has also emerged as a basic human right with the National Human Rights Commission, India advocating for the use of technology in providing healthcare services to ensure better access to quality and affordable healthcare services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission had issued comprehensive advisories to ensure adherence to human rights and access to care.              

The Conference will trace the impressive strides India has made in improving its healthcare delivery system to make quality services accessible and affordable to all and how this approach can be better leveraged digitally to far-flung areas. Significant gains have been made in improving the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, and nutritional status (RMNCHA+N) that are central to the achievement of national health goals under the National Health Mission (NHM).

India has also committed to providing accessible and affordable quality healthcare under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the year 2030. To achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage, the government has strengthened the public health infrastructure at the primary level, including training of human resource. Technology is being used to reach those living in the difficult geographies and the underserved and has the potential to be a game changer in healthcare delivery.

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NSK