AP set for reforms in transformative healthcare

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh is poised to usher sweeping reforms in public health protection and medical systems, backed by technical collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Health Minister Satyakumar Yadav announced on Sunday.

American businessman, co-founder of Microsoft, and philanthropist Bill Gates, founder of the Gates Foundation, is scheduled to visit the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat on Monday to hold discussions with state officials on various healthcare initiatives undertaken by the government at the behest of the Foundation. Highlighting the importance of the visit of Bill Gates to Amaravati on Monday, the Minister said the Foundation’s partnership would play a crucial role in helping the state achieve its goal of “Healthy Andhra Pradesh” as envisioned by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

Minister Satyakumar Yadav stated that the primary objective of the State Government–Gates Foundation partnership is to ensure accessible and affordable healthcare for all through adoption of advanced technologies and systemic reforms.

The collaboration also focuses on improving nutritional access, strengthening health security, and delivering better public health services across the State. Moving beyond the traditional model of treating diseases after onset, the government is shifting towards a preventive and predictive healthcare approach. This includes early disease detection, preventive interventions, comprehensive individual health assessments, advance health risk alerts, issuance of personal health cards, and expansion of digital health services such as telemedicine.

Following the Foundation’s recommendations, the State has constituted a High-Powered Expert Advisory Group comprising 10 international experts to review existing systems and suggest policy reforms for achieving the goal of Healthy Andhra Pradesh.

The first meeting has already been conducted, and three sub-committees are being formed to provide focused recommendations on key areas.

The Minister said the government has launched the integrated, tech-driven ‘Sanjeevani’ initiative with support from Tata MD, aimed at ensuring real-time health monitoring and coordination among healthcare centres. A pilot project has been implemented in Kuppam and expanded to Chittoor district, with plans for statewide rollout soon.

Emphasising the role of modern technology, the Minister said artificial intelligence (AI) will be central to transforming healthcare delivery. With the support of the Gates Foundation, the State initiated discussions in Vijayawada in December last year with representatives from various states to develop AI-based policy frameworks in healthcare. Concrete steps are being taken to introduce AI-driven solutions across government health services.

In collaboration with the Gates Foundation, the State launched the ‘Med Tech Challenge’ to identify AI-based medical devices and innovations that can strengthen public healthcare. Nearly 100 applicants participated, and after two rounds of screening, 20 innovators were shortlisted. Their devices are being tested in government hospitals under pilot projects, and a decision will be taken by the end of March based on the results. The challenge covers AI-based diagnostic tools, portable point-of-care testing units, smart monitoring and wearable devices as well as telemedicine solutions for remote areas.

The Minister added that data collected from various initiatives will be integrated with the RTGS ‘Aware’ platform to enable early detection of disease outbreaks and facilitate data-driven policy formulation.

As part of long-term reforms, the Gates Foundation is also supporting the establishment of a Digital Modeling and Intelligence Decision Centre (DMIDC) at Dr NTR University of Health Sciences. Minister Satyakumar Yadav expressed his gratitude to Bill Gates for agreeing to support Andhra Pradesh’s ambitious healthcare transformation programme at the request of the Chief Minister. He stated that the partnership would significantly accelerate systemic reforms and improve healthcare access for every citizen in the State.