NITI Aayog’s annual ‘health index’
Q. What is
this index?
· The
annual health index, which measures the performance of states and UTs on a “weighted composite score incorporating 24
health performance indicators”, was launched
by the NITI Aayog in 2017.
· It
is a weighted composite index based on 24 indicators grouped under the domains
of ‘health outcomes’, ‘governance and information’, and ‘key inputs/ processes’. Each domain has
been assigned weight based on its importance with higher score for outcome
indicators,
Ø The ‘health outcomes’
include indicators like neonatal mortality rate, total fertility rate, sex
ratio at birth, immunisation coverage, proportion of institutional deliveries,
total case notification rate of tuberculosis, and proportion of people living
with HIV on antiretroviral therapy.
Ø The ‘key inputs/ processes’
is a measure of health infrastructure available, including proportion of
functional 24X7 primary healthcare centres, districts with functional cardiac
care units, and vacancies in healthcare provider positions.
Ø The ‘governance and information’
domain includes indicators like proportion of institutional deliveries, average
occupancy (in months) of three key posts at state level, average occupancy (in
months) of the chief medical officer, and days taken for fund transfer.
Q. What
are the parameters?
· The
health index assesses states and UTs on two
parameters – incremental performance (year-on-year progress) and overall
performance. The states and UTs — categorised separately as ‘larger states’,
‘smaller states’ and UTs — are then ranked based on their scores
Q. What are the important highlights?
· The
three southern states of Kerala, Tamil
Nadu and Telangana emerged as the top performers among the ‘larger states’
in the NITI Aayog’s annual ‘health index’ for the Covid year of 2020-21,
· While Tripura was the best among the ‘smaller
states’, Delhi ranked at the bottom of the Union territories’ list.
· Among
the 19 ‘larger states’, Bihar (19th), Uttar Pradesh (18th) and Madhya Pradesh
(17th) are at the bottom of the list.
· In
terms of incremental performance, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Odisha emerged as
the top three performers in 2020-21, as compared to their performance in
2019-20.
· Among
the eight smaller states, Tripura has recorded the best overall performance,
followed by Sikkim and Goa; Arunachal Pradesh (6th), Nagaland (7th) and Manipur
(8th) are at the bottom.
· And
among the eight UTs, Lakshadweep has
been ranked as the top performer in terms of overall performance, while
Delhi ranked at the bottom.
· In
the last (fourth) health index report for 2019-20, released on December 27,
2021, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were ranked as top overall performers among the
larger states. Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Assam were the top three states in
terms of annual incremental performance.
· Among smaller states, Mizoram, Tripura and Sikkim took the top three slots in terms of overall performance, while Manipur (6th), Arunachal Pradesh (7th) and Nagaland (8th) were at the bottom in 2019-20. Among the UTs, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were at the top, while Andaman & Nicobar Islands was last.
Note-TheNITI Aayog brings out the index in collaboration with
the Union Health Ministry and World
Bank.
