National Programme for the Health Care for the Elderly

National Programme for the Health Care for the Elderly

Subject – Governance

Context – Life expectancy in India has risen from 50 (1970-75) to 70 years (2014-18); as a result, the number of elders (those over 60 years) is already 137 million, and expected to increase by 40% to 195 million in 2031, and 300 million by 2050.

Concept –

• The National Programme for the Health Care for the Elderly (NPHCE) is an articulation of the International and national commitments of the Government as envisaged under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) adopted by the Government of India in 1999 & Section 20 of “The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007” dealing with provisions for medical care of Senior Citizen.

Vision

• To provide accessible, affordable, and high-quality long-term, comprehensive and dedicated care services to an Ageing population;
• Creating a new “architecture” for Ageing;
• To build a framework to create an enabling environment for “a Society for all Ages”;
• To promote the concept of Active and Healthy Ageing