Manipur’s Journey Towards the Health SDGS: What’s Achieved and what more is Needed?

Abstract

India and its constituent states are committed to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) as a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 by strengthening primary healthcare (PHC). The National Health Mission (NHM) has been a landmark effort at health systems strengthening, aiming to reboot both the architecture and service delivery. Manipur ranks fourth out of the eight states in the North East Region in the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s ranking for SDGs. The available evidence, drawing upon secondary datasets and available primary data, aims to unpack the progress made in health systems strengthening to interpret the journey toward achieving UHCs and SDGs. The progress made and the gaps in terms of human resources, infrastructure, service utilization, and reduction of out-of-pocket expenditure are interpreted in terms of critical social determinants such as geographic and ethnic divides. Newer policies, such as the Act East Policy and medical tourism, are examined in the context of current disparities and the potential to accelerate the journey towards achieving SDGs.