The National Consultation on Universal Health Care (UHC) in India took place in New Delhi in August 2018. The workshop was organized by SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association), a WIEGO member, along with the Population Foundation of India (PFI) and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
Participants discussed priorities on the provision of health care to informal workers. Manohar Agnani, Joint Secretary - Policy of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) from the Government of India, attended the event.
The objective was to both develop a common understanding of UHC and gain a deeper understanding of the needs and priorities of people from different states and regions. Importantly, the workshop explored the possibility of a common platform to ensure that the proposed Ayushman Bharat and UHC in India reflects the needs of citizens, especially the mass of workers who are engaged in the informal economy, and women in both paid and unpaid work.
A report of the workshop was to be prepared and presented to the MoHFW, the Niti Ayog, WHO, The Elders, and civil society organizations. Concrete outcomes of the workshop were the action plans prepared by the participants, which were to be implemented in their own states. The expectation was that these plans and the report would result in further engagement and the development of a civil society platform for continuous engagement with the government, as it rolled out its plans and programmes towards Ayushman Bharat, and the ultimate goal of UHC.
Learn more
- Visit WIEGO’s workers’ health webpage
- Read Universal Health Coverage: An Informal Worker Perspective on the WIEGO Blog
- Read Informal Workers’ Access to Health Services on the WIEGO Blog
- Video: Informal Workers’ Access to Healthcare
- Read Health Financing and Delivery in India: An Overview of Selected Schemes - WIEGO Working Paper (Social Protection) No. 29
- Read Occupational Health and Safety and the Poorest - WIEGO Working Paper (Social Protection) No. 20