Uttar Pradesh tops Niti's Health Index in terms of incremental change

India's largest state Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the top performer in terms of incremental health performance among larger states, while Mizoram performed well in the smaller states category, according to the fourth Health Index launched by Niti Aayog.

The fourth round of the Health Index took into account the period 2019-20 (as reference year).

"Uttar Pradesh ranked at the top in terms of incremental performance by registering the highest incremental change from the base year (2018-19) to reference year (2019-20)," the report by the government think tank said.

It also said that from the base year (2018-19) to the reference year (2019-20), Uttar Pradesh led in improving the performance in 33 out of 43 indicators/sub-indicators.

"On the other hand, Kerala showed improvement in only 19 indicators, and additionally had three indicators in the category of fully achieved," the report said.

Though in terms of overall performance, Kerala was the front-runner, it had nearly half the indicators/sub-indicators where its performance worsened or remained stagnant, the report added. As per the report, the health index is a weighted composite score incorporating 24 indicators, covering key aspects of health performance.

It said the health index comprises select indicators in three domains -- health outcomes, governance and information, and key inputs and processes.

The report has been prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) with technical assistance from the World Bank.

According to an official statement, the importance of this annual tool was re-emphasised by the MoHFW's decision to link the index to incentives under the National Health Mission.

This has been instrumental in shifting the focus from budget spending and inputs to outputs and outcomes, it added.