The Mission Steering Group (MSG) is chaired by health minister J P Nadda and has several other ministers, secretaries as members
The highest policy making body and steering institution of the National Health Mission (NHM) is meeting in Delhi today to finalise a host of initiatives including a Rs 500 incentive scheme for TB patients and the rollout of a National Programme for Control of Viral Hepatitis from the 2018-19 financial year.
A very important part of the Hepatitis programme is a plan to provide for free, an anti-viral treatment that costs $63,000-94,000 for the full course in the US and Europe. The government is already in informal talks with Indian companies which manufacture Sofosbuvir
Chaired by the Union health minister and with the ministers of social justice empowerment, women and child development, urban development, drinking water and sanitation and the vice-chairman of the Niti Ayog among its members, the NHM Mission Steering Group (MSG) provides broad policy direction to the mission and exercises the main programme and governance for the health Sector. It advises the Empowered Programme Committee which is the executive arm of the NHM in policies and operation.
MSG will evaluate all decisions taken in the EPC meeting of December 22, 2017. The TB incentive scheme was also a part of finance minister Arun Jaitley’s Budget speech on February 1. It is aimed at providing nutritional support to all TB patients. A very important part of the Hepatitis programme is a plan to provide for free, an anti-viral treatment that costs $63,000-94,000 for the full course in the US and Europe. The government is already in informal talks with Indian companies which manufacture Sofosbuvir on behalf of American pharma giant Gilead, to negotiate the price for a national programme.
“The drug is manufactured by Gilead and costs anything between $63,000-94,000 for the full course. It is not possible for any government to pay those prices, but because they were looking to expand in India and given the size of the market, Gilead roped in various Indian companies to do the manufacturing and provide it at lower prices. Punjab negotiated the price to around Rs 7,000 for the full course. Haryana got it for a little less. We are hoping to roll it out nationally for a little less than Rs 5,000 for the full course, to be paid by the government. It will be available free of cost to the patients,” said a senior health ministry official. Sofosbuvir is recommended under the new WHO treatment guidelines for Hepatitis C. About 1.2 crore people are reported to be suffering from Hepatitis C in the country — six times the number of HIV/AIDS patients.
The health ministry is also planning to screen vulnerable groups, including drug users and people who underwent surgeries/ blood transfusion before 2002, when the screening protocol was not so robust. MSG will also take up the implementation of the preventive healthcare plan, also announced in the Union Budget with the initial costs estimates at Rs 2000 crore including a Rs 800 crore contribution from states.
