Health Index Report of Covid Year: Kerala and Tamil Nadu Top Performers

Kerala and Tamil Nadu Top Performers in Health Index Report

The southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana emerged as the top performers among the larger states in the NITI Aayog’s annual health index for the Covid year of 2020-21. Among the smaller states, Tripura ranked the highest, while Delhi ranked at the bottom among the Union territories.

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Health Index Report by NITI Aayog: Key Points

The NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry and World Bank, launched the annual health index in 2017.
This index evaluates the performance of states and Union territories based on a weighted composite score that incorporates 24 health performance indicators.
Although the fifth health index report for 2020-21 was scheduled to be released by December 2022, it has not been made public yet.
The NITI Aayog is said to have shared the report, titled “Healthy States Progressive India Report on the Ranks of States and Union Territories,” with the Health Ministry.
The health index evaluates the performance of states and UTs based on two factors: year-on-year progress and overall performance. The states and UTs are categorized as ‘larger states’, ‘smaller states’, and UTs, and then ranked according to their scores.
Among the 19 ‘larger states’, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana have emerged as the top three performers in terms of overall performance, securing first, second, and third positions respectively. On the other hand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh are positioned at the bottom of the list, ranking 19th, 18th, and 17th respectively.
Regarding incremental performance, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Odisha have shown the greatest improvement in 2020-21 compared to their performance in 2019-20, making them the top three performers in this category.

Health Index Report by NITI Aayog: Performance of Small States and UTs

Out of the eight smaller states, Tripura has achieved the highest overall performance, followed by Sikkim and Goa.
On the other hand, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur have the lowest rankings, standing at the sixth, seventh, and eighth positions respectively.
Regarding the eight Union Territories, Lakshadweep has been identified as the top performer in terms of overall performance, while Delhi has obtained the lowest rank.
In the previous health index report for 2019-20, which was released on December 27, 2021, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were recognized as the leading performers among the larger states.
Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam were the top three states in terms of annual incremental performance.

In terms of overall performance, Mizoram, Tripura, and Sikkim ranked as the top three states among smaller states, while Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland were at the bottom in the year 2019-20. Among the Union Territories (UTs), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu ranked at the top, while Andaman & Nicobar Islands ranked last.

Health Index Report by NITI Aayog as a Tool for Evaluation

As per a statement released by the NITI Aayog on December 27, 2021, the health index serves as an annual tool to evaluate the performance of states and UTs. It is a composite index that takes into account 24 indicators categorized under three domains: ‘health outcomes,’ ‘governance and information,’ and ‘key inputs/processes.’ Each domain is assigned a weight based on its importance, with greater emphasis on outcome indicators.

The ‘health outcomes’ domain comprises indicators such as neonatal mortality rate, total fertility rate, sex ratio at birth, immunization coverage, proportion of institutional deliveries, total case notification rate of tuberculosis, and proportion of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy.

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Madhavi Gaur