NHA & IIT-Delhi join hands to scale high-potential healthcare innovations

New Delhi: Recognizing the role of innovations to strengthen India’s response to the COVID-19 crisis and preparedness for emerging healthcare needs, National Health Authority (NHA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi). Through this partnership, NHA will be a technical collaborator on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility. IIT Delhi serves as the hosting entity for SAMRIDH. This initiative is implemented by a Technical Support Unit, managed by IPE Global.

SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility aims to catalyze market-based health solutions to improve access to affordable and quality healthcare services for low-income and vulnerable communities, particularly for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) beneficiaries. SAMRIDH has mobilised a capital pool of $100+ million from private sector and development funders. It leverages this fund to offer both grant and debt financing provision to healthcare enterprises and innovators.

Through this partnership, NHA and IIT Delhi will support innovative solutions to address the needs and priorities of the AB PM-JAY ecosystem. This collaboration will be crucial to support rapid scaling and absorption of health innovations across more than 23,000 PM-JAY empanelled hospitals. The innovations supported through the SAMIRDH Facility will improve the health infrastructure, build capacity of healthcare providers, and build effective COVID-19 mitigation – all in the pursuit to achieve ‘health for all’ in India.

Expressing his views about the collaboration, Dr R.S. Sharma, CEO, National Health Authority, remarked “It is our pleasure to collaborate with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on SAMRIDH Facility. Through this partnership we will work with diverse health sector players to scale high potential health solutions and amplify the impact of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. I am extremely confident that in years to come, this partnership will be a key enabler in making quality healthcare services in India more accessible and affordable.”

Reflecting on the scope of the partnership, Prof V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi said, “We welcome this opportunity to work with the NHA to deconstruct the key challenges in delivering healthcare services across PM-JAY empanelled health facilities, and support enterprises in addressing the gaps with indigenous innovations. SAMRIDH will provide a platform to facilitate affordable capital for scaling up of commercially viable innovations. The facility will also extend mentorship to enterprises from clinical, technology and business experts.”

Highlighting on the importance of this collaboration, Ms. Veena Reddy, Mission Director, USAID/India said: “The success of this initiative is rooted in partners that are committed to promoting the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. USAID welcomes NHA and IIT-Delhi’s collaboration on the SAMRIDH initiative to address the pandemic and future health crises.  Their combined network and expertise will use high impact market-based solutions to bring healthcare services to the most vulnerable.”

This partnership, leveraging distinct sources to identify innovative healthcare solutions, will provide a platform for diverse set of organizations, including manufacturers/suppliers of drugs, vaccines and health-tech, private healthcare networks, innovation incubators, social enterprises/NGOs, research & academic institutions, to come together towards solving complex healthcare challenges in India. This shared commitment of a wide spectrum of public and private stakeholders is envisioned to create the much-needed momentum to build an inclusive and sustainable healthcare system for India.