New Delhi, 23 September (IANS). The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that free drug distribution, use of generic drugs and price control have made better control over high blood pressure (biggest risk of heart disease) in India. He appreciated the country’s efforts to deal with blood pressure.
In 2025, its global report on hypertension, the World Health Organization gave the example of India for the successful pricing of hypertension drugs.
The World Health Organization said, “India’s comprehensive approach to improving hypertension, including national free drug service initiatives, promoting the use of generic drugs and implementing the value limit on essential anti -hypertension drugs, has made significant improvements in public health and improved blood pressure control rate.”
Launched in 2018-2019, the government’s India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) ensured reliable supply of free, quality-oriented generic hypertension drugs in public sector clinics. It was also supported by simple, protocol-based treatment methods and strong drug procurement systems.
In addition, the National Drug Price Determination Authority (NPPA) also prescribed a price limit for essential medicines including drug price control order and the national list of required medicines.
The NPPA calculated these maximum values based on the average market values, ensuring that the drugs remain cheaper and the manufacturers also get proper profit margin.
The report stated that this approach kept the expenses incurred from pockets for patients low and thus enabled the public health system to provide a reliable supply of quality, quality-oriented generic drugs.
The WHO stated that studies indicate that when high blood pressure drugs are purchased and distributed through public sector or through public sector or Jan-Muddy generic drug stores, the annual cost per patient can be reduced by 80 percent compared to the private sector, which benefits people.
The report stated that before the introduction of these reforms, the high blood pressure control rate in India was low. About 14 percent of adults controlled blood pressure.
The WHO said, “Statistics of the recent program of Punjab and Maharashtra show that according to the protocol, the patients who were treated, it was observed that their blood pressure control rate increased by 70–81 percent during the follow up, which led to a decrease of 15–16 mm Hg in average systolic blood pressure.”
The global health institution said, “These improvements show that public investment in inexpensive and accessible hypertension not only improves clinical consequences but also reduces the burden of expenses after diseases (heart disease, strokes) caused by it.”
The World Health Organization reports show that in 2024 1.4 billion people were suffering from high blood pressure, yet only one in five people could control it by medicine or other ways.
Analysis of data from 195 countries and regions suggests that the national high blood pressure control rate in 99 of them is less than 20 percent. Only 28 percent of the low-oriented countries have reported that all high blood pressure drugs recommended by the World Health Organization are generally available in pharmacies or primary health centers.
-IANS
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