Since the days of the Bhore Committee Report of 1948, the public health community in India has vociferously advocated a comprehensive primary healthcare system. The National Health Policy of 2017 finally acknowledges the importance of such a strategy.
The new policy has identified the establishment of Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) as the preferred way to deliver universal free comprehensive primary healthcare. Upgrading sub-centres and re-orienting Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to develop into HWCs was articulated by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech of 2017-18 which committed to developing 150,000 HWCs in the country. . .