Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Faggan Singh Kulaste on Monday said that the Health Technology Assessment was very essential and needed for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set under the government's five year plans.The HTA will also help in bringing people of the country under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC)."There is a need for developing high quality delivery health systems for the development of the country. HTA will guide us towards strengthening the health systems further," he said at the inauguration of the three-day workshop jointly organized by the Department of Health Research (DHR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Britain's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and Thailand's Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Programme.
The other newly appointed Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel was also present at the occasion.
ICMR chief Soumya Swaminathan, who is also the Secretary, Health Research said: "HTA will provide a roadmap to set the priorities within the country for promotive, preventive and curative services in healthcare. HTA is essential for making universal health coverage sustainable and effective.""HTA will provide a transparent, consultative process of decision making that is based on evidences and provides inputs to policymakers for providing universal health services that are affordable, appropriate and effective," she said.