Kerala tops NITI Aayog's Health Index, Uttar Pradesh worst performer

NITI Aayog's Health Index report has Kerala placed on top followed by Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh figures at the bottom of the list as the worst performer.

Among larger states, Rajasthan, Bihar and Odisha joined Uttar Pradesh as states that performed poorly in the health index.

Mizoram ranked first among small statesfollowed by Manipur and Goa.

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In terms of annual incremental performance measured in larger states, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh appeared as the top three states.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant released the report stating that the Health Index will act as a tool to leverage cooperative and competitive federalism. He also hoped that the Index will help in accelerating the pace of achieving health outcomes.

NITI Aayog member Vinod Paul said that the Health Index measures the absolute and incremental changes in health outcomes and will facilitatecross-learning between states.

NITI Aayog's initiative -- in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare -- aims at enabling better assessment of health outcomes across the country.

The report explicitly focuses on the outcomes of health systems.

The index consists of 24 indicators includinghealth outcomes, governance and information, and key inputs or processes.

All Indian states and union territories were categorised into larger states, smaller states, and union territories.

Among union territories, Lakshwadeep islands emerged on top of the health index. The UT was also listed as the highest annual incremental performer.

(With inputs from agencies)