The Union health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) today inked an MoU for enhanced cooperation in the health sector. The agreement was signed and exchanged between Joint Secretary (Health Ministry) Lav Agarwal and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, in the presence of Union Health Minister J P Nadda.

Tedros complimented the government of India on the initiatives taken to expand universal health coverage through the Ayushman Bharat programme. "The 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centers will definitely take primary healthcare closer to the people and the path-breaking National Health Protection Scheme will provide secondary and tertiary care to 500 million people of the country, providing the continuum of care to the citizens," a health ministry statement quoted Dr Tedros as saying. Tedros also appreciated the community engagement and feedback through digital outreach, which he witnessed during a visit to the Mother and Child Tracking Facilitation Centre at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) yesterday, and stated that such practices should be documented and shared with other countries, the statement stated.