A high-level delegation from Kenya held detailed discussions with India’s National Health Authority (NHA) on the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), digital public health infrastructure and sustainable health financing models, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in healthcare.
The proposed partnership, discussed during Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha’s visit to India alongside President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, includes collaboration between public institutions and private companies from both countries to jointly manufacture cancer therapies and medicines targeting tropical diseases. The discussions were held with Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda as part of broader efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation in pharmaceuticals and public health.
The visit focused on understanding the design and scale of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana(PM-JAY), the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme. The programme provides health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to economically vulnerable households across India. Officials from the NHA briefed the Kenyan delegation on beneficiary identification systems, provider empanelment, fraud control mechanisms, claims management processes and portability features that allow patients to access services across states.
Discussions also covered India’s digital health architecture, particularly the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission(ABDM), which aims to create a unified digital health ecosystem. The Kenyan team reviewed India’s approach to generating unique health IDs, interoperable health records, consent-based data sharing and integration of public and private healthcare providers through digital platforms. The model of open digital public infrastructure in healthcare — built to be scalable and low-cost — was presented as a framework that can be adapted to diverse population settings.
Health financing emerged as a central theme during the engagement. NHA officials outlined India’s blended financing approach combining central and state government funding, strategic purchasing of healthcare services and outcome-driven reimbursement models. The delegation examined how technology-enabled monitoring, data analytics and real-time dashboards are used to improve accountability and cost control in large-scale publicly funded schemes.
Kenya has been expanding its own universal health coverage agenda, including reforms linked to its national health insurance framework. The visit is seen as part of broader South–South cooperation, with countries in Africa increasingly studying India’s digital public goods model for health system transformation.
The exchange forms part of India’s wider health diplomacy efforts, under which several low- and middle-income countries have engaged with Indian institutions to understand digital health governance, public insurance architecture and scalable primary care systems. Officials from both sides explored possibilities for technical collaboration, knowledge sharing and capacity building in areas such as digital health standards, claims management systems and financing strategies aimed at expanding population coverage while maintaining fiscal sustainability.
The engagement underscores growing international interest in India’s public health insurance and digital health platforms as governments seek cost-effective pathways to universal health coverage.
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