WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised India's maternal and child health work and community screening services after meeting Health Minister J.P. Nadda during the September 2026 WHO regional committee session in Dili, Timor-Leste. DD India's September 10 account of his public statement said their discussions also covered tuberculosis, medical-product regulation and India's cooperation with WHO.
Tedros specifically highlighted Ayushman Arogya Mandirs for bringing checks for hypertension, diabetes and common cancers closer to communities. He also recognised ASHA workers' support for mothers and children. The discussions included traditional medicine and negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system associated with the WHO Pandemic Agreement, according to the broadcaster's account.
At the September 8 ministerial roundtable, Nadda described additional Indian services for underserved areas. The Health Ministry's readout named Ayushman Arogya Shivirs for screening and specialist consultations, Community Health Centres and First Referral Units for specialist and referral care, and eSanjeevani and ABHA-enabled records for teleconsultations and continuity of care. It also identified difficult-area allowances, specialist-service contracting and fixed-tenure postings among measures intended to improve staffing.
The same ministry statement reported 858 medical colleges, compared with 387 in 2014. It described a target of 10,000 additional postgraduate seats by 2028-29, prioritising underserved areas and shortage specialties including Emergency Medicine, Geriatrics, Psychiatry and Family Medicine. Another programme is establishing 157 nursing colleges alongside existing medical colleges, with an expected annual addition of approximately 15,700 nursing graduates.
Separately, WHO confirmed that regional health ministers adopted the Dili Declaration on September 8. Its commitments include specialist outreach, mentoring, joint training, telemedicine collaboration and a regional network of health-professional regulators and policymakers. Cancer, cardiovascular care, trauma, maternal and newborn care, mental health and rehabilitation were among its priorities. The meeting thus placed India's named community and specialist services alongside regional commitments on workforce deployment and access to care.
