India’s smart moves on free medicines and price caps have made a big difference in fighting high blood pressure, a major heart disease risk, according to the World Health Organization. In its new Global Report on Hypertension for 2025, released during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, WHO spotlighted India’s success story in improving hypertension control and access to affordable treatments.
The report praises India’s all-around strategy, including the National Free Drugs Service Initiative. This program pushes for generic medicines and sets price ceilings on essential blood pressure drugs. “These efforts have brought real public health wins and boosted blood pressure control rates across the country,” WHO noted.
Starting in 2018-2019, the government’s India Hypertension Control Initiative ramped up free, high-quality generic antihypertensive meds in public clinics. Simple treatment protocols and strong supply chains made it all work smoothly. On top of that, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority enforces price caps on key drugs under the Drug Price Control Order and the National List of Essential Medicines. They base these caps on average market prices to keep things affordable for patients while giving manufacturers a fair cut.
This setup slashes out-of-pocket costs and ensures steady access to reliable generics through the public health system. Studies show that when folks get these meds from public channels or Jan-Aushadhi stores, yearly costs per patient drop by up to 80% compared to private options. That makes hypertension management way more accessible for everyone.
Before these changes, only about 14% of adults with high blood pressure in India had it under control. Fast forward, and recent data from states like Punjab and Maharashtra paints a brighter picture. Among patients sticking to the program and protocols, control rates now hit 70-81% at follow-ups, with average systolic blood pressure dropping 15-16 mmHg.
WHO says these gains prove that investing in cheap, easy-to-get blood pressure meds pays off big time. It leads to better health outcomes and cuts the financial hit from cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes.
On the global stage, the report reveals a tougher reality: 1.4 billion people worldwide dealt with hypertension in 2024, but just one in five manages it well through meds or lifestyle tweaks. Data from 195 countries shows 99 of them have national hypertension control rates below 20%. In low-income nations, only 28% have all WHO-recommended blood pressure drugs readily available in pharmacies or primary care spots. India’s example could inspire more countries to step up their game on affordable hypertension care.
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