In response to the current health crises, a new partnership was announced between Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare (SAMRIDH) initiative. The primary focus of this collaboration is aimed towards bringing about innovations in healthcare, all while prepping against future infectious disease outbreaks and health emergencies.
Established on January 1st, 2015, NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission, adopting a ‘Bottom-Up’ approach to ensure maximum governance and minimum government, in line with the philosophy of ‘Cooperative Federalism’. AIM is a leading initiative launched by the NITI Aayog, dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the country.
Understanding the SAMRIDH Initiative
The innovative SAMRIDH blended finance facility was co-created by the Indian government, academic circles, and the private sector in 2020. The core idea behind this initiative was to blend public and philanthropic funds with commercial capital to rapidly scale market-based health solutions. This approach, known as blended finance, utilizes catalytic funding from both public and philanthropic sources to draw in additional private sector investment, which helps realize social goals.
This initiative is aimed at ameliorating healthcare access in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, along with rural and tribal regions. The initiative’s implementation is overseen by a Technical Support Unit operated and managed by IPE Global.
Objectives of the SAMRIDH Initiative
The chief objectives of the initiative include bridging healthcare facility gaps to better respond to health emergencies, accelerating the adoption of innovative and market-based health solutions, and mobilizing resources to support impactful health solutions while creating sustainable healthcare systems. This initiative also promotes local and comprehensive solutions at both community and facility levels.
Significance of the SAMRIDH Initiative
The initiative is significant as AIM and SAMRIDH use philanthropic capital and public sector resources to overcome barriers to commercial investment in small and medium-sized health enterprises. The recent partnership announcement will further enhance SAMRIDH’s reach in targeting vulnerable populations through leveraging AIM’s expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Differences between SAMRIDH Initiative and SAMRIDH Programme
The SAMRIDH programme was launched by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) in August 2021, designed to provide a conducive platform for Indian Software Product start-ups to enhance their business scalability. This is fundamentally different from the healthcare-oriented SAMRIDH initiative.
Overview of the Current Healthcare Landscape in India
Despite India’s healthcare sector growing rapidly over the past five years, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 22%, Covid-19 has highlighted persistent challenges like weak health systems, quality infrastructure deficiency, and low-quality service delivery to vulnerable populations.
India spends 3.6% of its GDP on healthcare, including individual and public expenditure. Among BRICS nations, India spends the least. Brazil tops the list, spending 9.2% of its GDP on healthcare, followed by South Africa (8.1%), Russia (5.3%), and China (5%).
The Indian government launched the Ayushman Bharat (AB) Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the world’s most extensive non-contributory Government-sponsored health insurance scheme, which has enabled increased access to in-patient healthcare facilities for impoverished and vulnerable families.
