Kerala tops NITI Aayog overall health ranking; UP at the bottom in the index

New Delhi: Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telengana have been ranked the top three among 'the larger states' in NITI Aayog's fourth State Health Index for 2019-20 which the union planning body released here on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh, which is going to the polls early next year, once again is at the bottom of the 19 larger states and in the same category Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were adjudged the second and third worst performers.

However, UP is the best state in terms of 'incremental performance' of 2019-20 measured against 2018-19. Mizoram was the top for overall and incremental performance among the smaller states.

"On overall ranking based on the composite index score in 2019-20, the top-ranking states were Kerala and Tamil Nadu among the 'Larger States', Mizoram and Tripura among the 'Smaller States', and DH&DD and Chandigarh among the UTs", said the report.

The report titled 'Healthy States, Progressive India' ranks states and Union Territories on their year-on-year incremental performance in health outcomes as well as their overall status. The fourth round of the report focuses on measuring and highlighting the overall performance and incremental improvement of states and UTs over the period 2018-19 to 2019-20.

The report was released jointly by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, Additional Secretary Dr Rakesh Sarwal, and World Bank Senior Health Specialist Sheena Chhabra. The report has been developed by Niti Aayog, with technical assistance from the World Bank, and in close consultation with the Union Health Ministry.

Close on the heels of the report's release, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav blamed the Yogi Adityanath government claiming that the Niti Aayog report is the "real report" of the BJP government.

The index is a weighted composite score incorporating 24 indicators covering key aspects of health performance, largely in three domains: Health outcomes; governance and information; and key inputs and processes.

The indicators are selected from data sources such as the Sample Registration System (SRS), Civil Registration System (CRS), and Health Management Information Systems (HMIS).

To ensure comparison among similar entities, the ranking in the report has been categorized as 'Larger States', 'Smaller States' and 'Union Territories'. Among the 'Larger States', in terms of annual incremental performance, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Telangana are the top three ranking states. Mizoram and Meghalaya registered the maximum annual incremental progress among 'Smaller States'. Delhi, followed by Jammu and Kashmir among UTs showed the best incremental performance.

The index reflected a narrowing of the gap in overall performance between the best- and the worst-performing larger states and UTs in the current round of the health index, while it increased for the smaller states.

The index showed that the gap in overall performance between the best- and the worst-performing larger states and UTs narrowed in the current round of the health index, while it increased for the smaller states.

The index showed that the gap in overall performance between the best- and the worst-performing larger states and UTs narrowed in the current round of the health index, while it increased for the smaller states.

States are beginning to take cognizance of indices such as the State Health Index and use them in their policy-making and resource allocation. This report is an example of both competitive and cooperative federalism," said Dr Rajiv Kumar while releasing the report.

Amitabh Kant said, "Our objective through this index is to not just look at the states' historical performance but also their incremental performance". The index encourages healthy competition and cross-learning among states and UTs, he added.

(With inputs from agencies)