The Covid-19 pandemic has put “health” at the centre of the global agenda, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan told the World Health Organization’s Executive Board meeting recently.
But pro-health groups will be watching the Union Budget on February 1 to see if lessons from the pandemic will be reflected in terms of an increased spending on health. The call is to focus not just on tackling Covid-19 and purchasing vaccines, but to strengthen the public health infrastructure, diagnostics and disease surveillance in the country. Especially so, since India has a potent mix of infectious and non-communicable diseases to deal with.