“Covid-19 is an opportunity for Indian government to push Ayushman Bharat”, says WHO chief

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press brief in Geneva said the Covid-19 pandemic which devastated the world economy could be a great opportunity for the Indian government to push its health insurance scheme ‘Ayushman Bharat’, especially with a focus on basic healthcare.

WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus was responding to a question on the COVID-19 situation in India, where the number of coronavirus cases is increasing rapidly. India went past Italy on Friday to become the sixth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. India has surpassed Italy in the number of Covid patients, but the mortality rates are far less compared to the affected ratio, which western media blames for false reporting.

India saw a record single-day jump of 9,887 coronavirus cases and 294 deaths on Saturday, pushing the nationwide infection tally to 2,36,657 and the death toll to 6,642, according to the health ministry.

“Of course COVID is very unfortunate and it’s challenging for many nations but we need to look for opportunities too. For instance for India, this could be an opportunity to speed up Ayushman Bharat, especially with a focus on primary health care. I know there is a very strong commitment from the government to speed up the implementation of Ayushman Bharat and with primary healthcare and community engagement, I think we can really turn the tide, Ghebreyesus said.