Health Issues India has been committed to tracking stories about the healthcare situation in India stories that outline progress made by India in order to ensure better health outcomes to all.
A global study of health indicators released a few days ago has outlined how much India still needs to achieve in order to ensure that healthcare is accessible to all. India has ranked a disappointing 143/188 countries, scoring especially poorly in indicators of malaria, drinking water, hygiene, air pollution mortality and lack of effective optimal universal health care.
We have written before of how health is not considered a political issue in India and how accessibility and affordability of healthcare and medication is severely lacking, especially amongst the rural population. India has an abysmal ratio of doctors:population, with the numbers falling even lower in rural areas. This is despite India having some of the best medical colleges and institutes in the world.
PM Modi has announced schemes such as free healthcare for below poverty level (BPL) families. However such schemes are also prone to corruption and mismanagement and the people for whom these schemes are meant are more often than not unable to avail of them. In this scenario, PM Modi’s Digital India campaign may be able to fill the gaps and use technology and innovations such as telemedicine to ensure that healthcare is available to all.
There is a long way to go and we hope that this latest poor ranking on health indicators spurs the government to action and more initiatives to ensure that each and every Indian has access to affordable and quality healthcare.
