India to Nearly Double Expenditure on Health

New Delhi: In a major boost to the healthcare sector, total government expenditure on health would be increased to 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2017, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Wednesday. The decision was taken in a meeting held in the PMO on the government's priorities in health sector, particularly over the next five years. "The meeting decided that we must work towards increasing the total government health expenditure to 2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) from current 1.4 percent. The Planning Commission was requested to allocate adequate resources to achieve the target," said an official statement. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has emphasised the need for increased outlay on health sector during Twelfth Plan so that adequate funds are made available for the sector, the statement further said. "There is a need to create adequate capacity at the centre and the states to meaningfully absorb the increased outlay," the statement said, quoting Manmohan Singh. The health ministry is working towards the goal of universal health care for all. It was decided in the meeting that the ministry would also work towards strengthening public health through the creation of necessary human resource capacities at all levels. The meeting specifically focused on implementation of recommendations of the National Commission for Macroeconomics & Health (NCMH) and the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Health set up by the Planning Commission.