UNFPA India Report: Scaling Digital Health, Gender Equity, and South-South Cooperation
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | SDG 5: Gender Equality | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) | Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD | Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) | Ministry of Panchayati Raj
The UNFPA India Newsletter (Edition #9) highlights a strategic pivot toward data-driven governance, technological innovation in healthcare, and South-South cooperation. Key milestones include the appointment of Kriti Sanon as Honorary Ambassador for Gender Equality and the recognition of social activist Varsha Deshpande with the 2025 UN Population Award for her work against gender-biased sex selection.
The report details the successful operationalization of digital public infrastructure for gender-based violence (GBV) response, the global export of India’s digital health training models (VR midwifery), and the launch of the India-UN Global Capacity Building Initiative. Furthermore, the release of the State of World Population 2025 report reframed the national discourse from population control to “reproductive agency,” emphasizing informed choice over numerical targets.
Key Policy Interventions & Innovations
A. Technological Transformations in Governance
Blockchain for GBV Response: In Odisha, the Shakti App has been scaled statewide. This blockchain-based platform integrates 30 One Stop Centres and 68 shelter homes, enabling secure, real-time case management to minimize delays and safeguard survivor confidentiality.
Real-Time Health Monitoring: In partnership with MoHFW, the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP) launched an MIS dashboard and mobile app across 27 states. This tool allows officials to pinpoint specific schools with high rates of anemia or mental health needs, shifting school health from reactive to proactive management.
AI-Powered Youth Engagement: The JustAsk! Chatbot, now integrated with Bhashini AI for multilingual support, has crossed 650,000 unique users, providing adolescents with non-judgmental sexual and reproductive health information.
B. Strengthening Health Systems & Human Capital
Virtual Reality (VR) Going Global: UNFPA India’s VR Midwifery Training module on labour complication management is being adopted globally. Countries including Benin, Zimbabwe, Timor-Leste, Rwanda, and Uzbekistan are testing these Indian innovations, showcasing India’s role as a leader in digital health education.
Expanded Contraceptive Choice: On World Population Day 2025, Rajasthan scaled up newer contraceptive methods, launching SD-Implant services in medical colleges and expanding injectable contraceptives across public health facilities in Jodhpur and Udaipur.
Trauma-Informed Policing: In Rajasthan, 203 police officers were trained as Master Trainers in Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) approaches to GBV, cascading this training across 17 districts to create survivor-centric policing.
C. Gender Equity & Corporate Responsibility
Period-Friendly Workplaces: A coalition including Shahi Exports, IKEA India, and Tata Motors launched a campaign advocating for period-friendly workplaces, framing menstrual health as a matter of livelihood and economic inclusion rather than just hygiene.
Legal & Judicial Capacity: Over 158 judges and judicial officers were trained on the POSH Act (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) to enhance judicial capacity in upholding workplace dignity.
Global Leadership: India as a Knowledge Partner
The newsletter underscores India’s growing role as a provider of development solutions to the Global South:
India-UN Global Capacity Building Initiative: Launched in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, this initiative solidifies India’s position as a hub for development expertise.
Caribbean Census Support: Through the UN-India SDG Country Fund, India is supporting census preparedness in Barbados, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. This involves deploying India’s expertise in digital census technologies to strengthen statistical systems abroad.
Policy Relevance for Indian Policymakers
Reproductive Agency vs. Population Control: The State of World Population 2025 report creates a critical policy pivot. Policymakers are urged to move away from anxiety-driven narratives about population numbers and focus on “reproductive agency.” Evidence presented suggests that when women have bodily autonomy, demographic resilience naturally follows.
The “Silver Dividend”: New research partnerships are focusing on the elderly care economy, responding to India’s demographic transition. Policies must now address the “silver dividend” and the specific gendered impacts of climate change on the elderly population.
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a Foreign Policy Tool: The successful export of Indian VR training tools and census methodologies to Africa and the Caribbean validates the Ministry of External Affairs’ strategy of using DPI as a key instrument of soft power and South-South cooperation.
What is “Trauma-Informed Care” (TIC) in the context of Governance?→ Trauma-Informed Care is an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma. In the context of the UNFPA report, TIC is being applied to policing and social services in Rajasthan and Odisha. It shifts the focus from “What is wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”, ensuring that first responders (police, doctors, OSC staff) do not re-traumatize survivors of gender-based violence during investigations or medical examinations. It emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers and survivors.
Follow the full report here: UNFPA India Newsletter Edition #9 - On Track