Odisha asks NITI Aayog to include state specific indicators

0

Bhubaneswar : The Odisha Government has advised NITI Aayog to include State Specific Indicators, while ranking the States on various Development Indicators like health, education and other social sector.

NITI Aayog is publishing Reports on Development Indicators and ranking the State Governments, State Specific Indicators are not being taken into consideration, while preparing the Reports.

Recently NITI Aayog while preparing Healthy States Progressive India Report Card and Ranking the States, several issues pertaining to Health Care Sector were not taken into consideration, officials point out.

Asit Tripathy, Chief Secretary is in touch with NITI Aayog in this regard, sources said. With long service in Government of India and having experience in formulating National Policies at Union Government level, Mr.Tripathy has advised NITI Aayog in this line, said official sources.

Take for example, Odisha tops in Malaria Eradication Program. Odisha has been successful in brining remarkable decline of Malaria during 2017 and 2018, which has been appreciated by Government of India in Ministry of Health & family Welfare.

Union Secretary Health and Family Welfare Preeti Sudan was on record while appreciating Odisha and she pointed out that Malaria cases have significantly declined by 22.32% in 2017 as compared to 2016. Same declining trend is evident from the reports received from states in 2018 as well.

Union Secretary said “From January to October, 2018, there has been a 55% decline in malaria cases, and 66% decline in falciparum malaria cases, as compared to the corresponding period in 2017.”

“I would like to congratulate you and your team for contributing to the national efforts as the biggest decline of 84% has been observed in your state, in 2018 as compared to 2017”, said Ms.Sudan.

The progress in Malaria control in Odisha has also been quoted as one of the best models in the recently released World Malaria Report 2018.

After all such appreciation, when NITI Aayog prepared the Health States Progressive India and ranked the States, it missed the point and Odisha did not got the weightage, which has been able to reduce morbidity and mortality due to Malaria in a big way.

So the State Government has suggested to give weightage for the State, which has performed exceedingly well in combating one of the most killer disease.

A senior official said that the National Health Policy of Government of India has the goal for Universal Health Coverage.

Universal Health Coverage means that all people have access to the health services they need (prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care) without the risk of financial hardship when paying for them.

However State Government strongly feels that Universal Health Coverage is needed with the Universality of Population Coverage and it is needed to be included as an Health Development Indicators, while mapping the Ranks of the State.

Senior officials feel that while mapping Social Development Index including Health Development or Education Development and Child Development Sector, Ministries concerned are needed to take up the matter jointly so that more vigorous and characteristic Human Development Index will be achieved.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.