Given that Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, anganwadi workers, and helpers are at the forefront of health care delivery at the grassroots level, the World Health Organization (WHO) has applauded February 1 Union Budget announcement on extending healthcare coverage to them under Ayushman Bharat.
Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO’s representative in India, said that various other health-related initiatives announced in the Budget – upgrading existing hospital infrastructure to increase medical colleges, harmonisation of maternal and child care implementation, introduction of a vaccination against human papillomavirus to prevent cervical cancer, and the expansion of the U-WIN platform to manage and intensify immunisation — will further strengthen systems and healthcare services across the country.
